Avatar: Book 1A: Water
by Exigence
Summary: Water. Earth. Fire. Air. The four nations lived in harmony, but everything changed when the Water Clan attacked. Inspired by Distorted Reality, Azula and Zuko discover Aang suspended in a volcano, and must help him defeat the Water Chief and save the world.
1. Ch 1: The Boy in the Volcano, Part 1

_Water. Earth. Fire. Air._

_My grandfather told me stories about the old days, times of peace, when the Avatar kept the balance between the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads.__.._

_But everything changed when the Water Tribes attacked._

_Only the Avatar mastered all four elements; only he could stop the __ever-adapting waterbenders. But in the world's darkest hour, he vanished. A century has passed, and the Water Tribes, now called the Water Clan, collectively, is nearing victory in the war._

_Two years ago, my father the Fire Lord, and the majority of our army journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help oppose the Water Clan, leaving my brother and I in the homeland, with our Uncle as De-facto Fire Lord._

_Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't given up hope. I still believe that, somehow, the Avatar will return, to save the world..._

* * *

No matter what season it is in the Fire Nation, the temperature was always warm and tropical. All year round, there was always fields of grass and exotic flora to be observed.

One volcano in particular, one among many within an archipelago of tropical islands, was currently being explored by two siblings.

One of them, at least, seemed to show some enthusiasm on their little trip, although the serious expression on his face didn't betray it. He was crouched low, wearing gloves he didn't usually keep with him. Both him and his sister were on a relatively manageable slope along the volcano's many rolling hills.

Zuko breathed in through his nose and calmly and quietly out of his mouth. A goodly sized rodent, about the size of Zuko's calf, was merely feet away from him, oblivious to the human sized predator approaching it. He slowly raised his hands in a fire bending stance, prepared to trap the animal in a ring of fire.

"Watch and learn, Azula," Zuko said, looking over his shoulder toward his sister.

"This is how you catch a fire ferret."

Unseen by Zuko, Azula rode her eyes, arms crossed, as she stood with her back against a relatively vertical rock surface, one leg bent behind her.

When their father, Fire Lord Ozai, left with a third of the Nation's military to aid the Earth Kingdom, both her and Zuko's training was put on hold. Ozai was a strict teacher, but he wasn't cruel. Azula's prodigious talent allowed her to easily keep up with her older brother, but Zuko felt the need to assert that he had the most experience out of the both of them, even if it was only slight.

Their Uncle Iroh expressed his willingness to continue their training, but his duties as de facto Fire Lord only allowed him so much free time.

So here they were, catching fire ferrets as some, in Azula's mind, ridiculous training exercise.

Out of the corner of her eye, Azula spotted _two _fire ferrets, wandering aimlessly, and close together. She smirked at the thought of one-upping Zuko by catching them both. Leaning off of the rocky wall, Azula silently took up a fire bending stance, both hands open with her right hand wound back as if to push an invisible object. Breathing out, she thrust out her hand, a flame encircling the two ferrets like a will-o-wisp.

Actually surprised by her own quick success, she makes sure to keep rotating her hand in a circular motion, keeping the surprised ferrets trapped in the rotating, orange fire.

"Zuko, take a look at this!" Azula declared proudly, slowly stepping back to near her brother, who simply shushed her.

"You're going to spook it," he whispered aggressively, his back still to her.

Azula frowned in annoyance, continuing to maintain the fire. Or she would have, if Zuko hadn't shoved her when he chambered his firing arm backwards.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, skipping forward to keep from falling. Her will-o-wisp sputtered out and the fire ferrets suddenly jumped in her direction, past her face. Reeling backwards, Azula reflexively swiped her hands, fire whiffing from her fingers. Her wild gesturing threw the fire onto Zuko who jumped with a start, furiously patting himself down to smother the fire.

Zuko slowly rounded on his sister to see that Azula stood straight up, hands behind her back with a false smile plastered on her face.

"Why is it, that every time _you _firebend, _I_ keep getting burnt?" Another small flame flared up on his shoulder and he smothered it with a single angry pat, not having broken eye contact with Azula at all.

Azula crossed her arms, looking away imperiously. "Oh please," she retorted. Zuko could already hear the condescension in her tone. "Maybe if you had better awareness of your surroundings-"

"You can avoid getting hurt, blah, blah, whatever," Zuko cut in rudely. His voice softened as he continued, however.

"I'm just saying, you can't keep deflecting blame, okay?"

"Me, deflecting?" Azula parroted with a raised brow. "Need I remind you who blamed me for throwing a rock at a turtle duck in front of mother and said it was _my _idea?"

Zuko glared but didn't immediately answer. "That was _three _years ago," he replied scathingly.

Their argument was cut short by a thunderous boom.

What looked to be dozens of fire ferrets dashed past them down the volcano's slope, easily leaping over boulders and scattered volcanic debris.

Azula and Zuko shared a glance before Zuko grabbed Azula's hand, accelerating into a mad dash. "Run!" he ordered.

The thunderous boom sounded again, louder and more drawn out than the last. Azula looked back, taking an involuntary inhale of breath. Lava was spewing out of the volcano, and the ground shook as if Agni himself had suddenly threw a tantrum.

Lava and rocks of all sizes imaginable began to rain down, and Zuko pulled her along, attempting to outrun mother nature.

As they descended, it seemed as if they were still speeding up, the surface becoming more steep the more distance they covered trying to reach the base of the volcano.

"Wait, Zuko! Go left! Left!" she frantically ordered, realizing Zuko was leading them into the path of a crashing boulder. She attempted to pull back, causing the both of them to tumble to the ground painfully. On Instinct, Zuko pulled Azula under him in case more debris began to fall. The boulder she saw flying through the air earlier crashed to the ground in front of them, disrupting their descent, followed by similarly sized rocks surrounding them on all sides until they were completely closed in, even along the top. The sky was blocked out, but the space was tall enough for them to stand up without having to crouch.

Once everything settled down, Azula shoved Zuko aside, patting herself down as she stood up.

"Nice evading, dum-dum," Azula said derisively.

Zuko crossed his arms once he stood himself up. "Didn't like my running?" Zuko made a poor imitation of a messenger hawk. "Maybe you should have flown us out of there with your fire feet."

Azula sucked her teeth. Zuko was well aware that neither of them had been taught how to fly with fire. "So it's my fault?" She concluded, responding to her brother's blaming.

"If you didn't notice, we'd be a safe distance from the volcano and not stuck in _all this_," Zuko gestured to their surround ings lazily, "If you hadn't thrown us to the ground!" Azula tapped her foot impatiently.

"We'd get in a lot less trouble if you weren't always trying to show off..."

Azula's boundless patience had it's limits. Unseen by Azula, lava started to breach through the tiny gaps left by the rocks they were trapped in. Zuko's brows shot up in surprise.

"You are the most insufferable, immature, short-tempered-!" Azula had been gesticulating wildly to get her point across, unwittingly keeping the lava at bay, but making it splash against the largest boulder behind them, where the magma began to cool.

"Sometimes it's infuriating being related to you!"

She swung her arms angrily backwards again, this time a large mass of lava being forced onto the boulder as if by her command.

Zuko still had his arms crossed, stubbornly looking away. He glanced towards her only for a moment before belatedly doing a double-take. The giant boulder behind Azula began to crack, a large fissure forming. Rubble fell from the boulder, some of it landing into the unconsciously held back lava flow.

"Ever since mother disappeared, I've been the one helping Uncle with all of his official work, while you run off playing border guard!" She emphasized the last word with another swing of her arms, pushing the lava away from them and towards the Boulder again.

"Uh...Azula..." Zuko said slowly, pointing behind them.

"I even do all the cooking with the staff on leave! Have you ever tried _your_ tea? Leaf juice indeed!" She unconsciously lavabends again, deeping the already dangerous looking fissure.

"Azula, calm down!"

"No, from now on, you train on your own!" Azula's last movement causes the rest of the lava to splash onto the boulder, finally splitting it in half with a resonating crack.

Azula finally looks behind her, and she stumbles away from the two halves as it begins to crumble into large sections.

The ground shook violently again, the slight incline of the ground making them lose balance and falling backwards.

"Great, now you've gone full psycho with bending _lava _and all."

Azula didn't react to the insult, looking dumbly at the destroyed boulder. "I did that?"

"Apparently," Zuko replied bluntly, standing up.

The ground quaking again stilled them, and they feared the volcano was still erupting. However, whatever remained of the boulder that was in front began to somehow glow.

"What in the-" Zuko was cut off by Azula pushing past him as the glowing rock began to break apart as well. Sections broke off before revealing what looked to be a trapped figure inside.

Glowing eyes suddenly materialized in the darkness of the apparently hollow stone, eliciting a gasp from both siblings.

"Someone's in there," Azula remarked, nearing the stone as if in a trance. Glancing around, Azula picked up a rather large slab of stone, about half the size of her torso, and began swinging it at the edges of the rock opening.

Grabbing Azula's shoulder, he attempted to pull her away from the glowing eyes.

"Azula! Get back! We don't know what that thing is!"

He finally managed to pull her back, but not before the rest of the rock crumbled away. A pillar of light blasted forth from it, and as if made of solid matter, punched through the ceiling of rock and into the sky.

* * *

A young man in traditional Water Tribe snow wolf armor, lowers the hand held telescope from his face, rounding on the older man seated a small distance from him.

The young man, Sokka, stood at the Water Navy Ship's railing, a triumphant smile on his face.

"Gramps, you know what this means?!"

The older man sighed aggressively. "I won't get to finish my game?" He frowned. "And stop calling me Gramps."

Sokka ignored his complaint, looking back towards the pillar of light emanating from one of the islands in the archipelago. "It means my search is finally finished!"

The elder, Pakku, sighed, disinterest clear in his voice as he places a tile on the table in front of him.

"Nothing can possibly glow with insane spirit magic unless...it's the Avatar!" Sokka continued. "It's gotta be him!"

"Or it's just the celestial lights," Pakku countered, uninterest still evident. "We've talked about this many times, Prince Sokka," he said as if scolding a child.

"For spirits' sake, both poles have these lights all the time." His voice softened. "I just don't want you getting worked up over nothing." Pakku gestured to the table in front of him. "Why don't you pour yourself some Jasmine tea? Special recipe from a friend."

Sokka waved away the offer with obvious disinterest, his back still turned.

"Forget the tea, the Avatar is like minutes away!" He turned toward a soldier stationed above them on the ship. "Helmsman, navigate us to that pillar of light!" he said, pointing in the direction where it was last seen.

Pakku sighed, continuing his game. The airbending tile was in his hand, and he placed it onto the board. Almost seemingly on cue, a guest of wind blew past, rustling his hair.


	2. The Boy in The Volcano, Part 2

Gusts of air forced it's way out of the hollow volcanic rock, as if pressurized and eager to escape. Zuko and Azula were pushed backwards, although they both managed to stay rooted to the ground.

The figure slowly walked through the volcanic rock's opening, seemingly unaware of the siblings' presence. His eyes glowed intensely, and the tattoos present on his forehead and hands also glowed the same, as if he were some mysterious spirit having arrived to judge them.

He took another step forward, looking almost sluggish on his feet.

Both Azula and Zuko shuffled backwards, though the Prince had the presence of mind to step in front of Azula, fist stretched forward towards the stranger.

Suddenly the light died out. Instead of an intimidating, barely visible figure shrouded in light...

"It's a kid..." Zuko realized, slowly dropping his guard.

The kid in question began to collapse as the light from his tattoos faded, and he exhaled once in clear exhaustion. Before his head would collide with the ground, Azula dashed forward, catching him by the shoulders.

Azula gave the boy a once over, checking him for injuries. Her gaze lingered on the arrow tattoos on his hands, and she glided a thumb over the paint. They looked permanent.

Belatedly, she realized Zuko was poking the boy's head with his boot. "Stop that!" she ordered, shooing him with a hand. Gingerly, Azula propped the strangely dressed boy against a wall of rock. After a moment of silence, he slowly opened his eyes. To Azula's surprise, they were a striking gray, and Azula nearly lost herself in them. The same could be said for the boy as well, as he found himself staring into Azula's piercing yellow irises. The bangs framing her face seemed to sway with the little bit of wind that was present.

"I need...to ask you something," the boy suddenly said, pulling her out of her daze.

"What..?" she asked.

"Please...come closer," he muttered. Azula drew closer.

"Will you catch fire ferrets with me?" He blurted, making Azula nearly jump backwards. Zuko suppressed a snort at seeing her get caught off guard.

Azula gave the boy an unimpressed look as she sat up straight before standing. "Well, you're obviously feeling better," she said under her breath, making a show of clearing her throat.

To Zuko and Azula's surprise, the boy kicked his legs up, seemingly floating in the air for a second longer than would be considered normal. Azula looked both shocked and impressed, while Zuko, ever the protective brother, stood in front of Azula again.

"What's going on here?" the boy asked, sounding confused as he rubbed his head. He examined the rocks surrounding them, but it seemed like he was looking for something.

"You tell us!" Zuko demanded dangerously, arms raised again in a stance, his lead arm almost directly in the youth's face.

"How did you get in the rock? And why aren't you an old man? Or dead?"

The youngest of the three waved Zuko's arm away almost lazily, as if a bug was hovering in his face.

"I'm not sure..." the boy paused as if considering what Zuko asked. "Why the heck would I be dead?"

A low, gruff sound suddenly filled the air, sounding like the growl of an animal. The boy gasped as if he'd found what he'd been looking for. Without hesitation, he walked back into the hollow rock, briefly disappearing. Zuko and Azula shared a glance.

Suddenly, the rock burst into rubble as if it had collided with a large object. Out stepped a giant animal, it's head adorned with an arrow pattern in its fur.

"What _is _that?" Zuko asked what Azula had been thinking.

"Appa! Are you alright, buddy?" The giant animal stuck its large tongue out, licking him. The boy laughed while Azula cringed inwardly. That had to be unsanitary, she thought.

"To answer your question, this is Appa, my flying Bison!"

Zuko looked unimpressed. "Sure," he deadpanned, crossing his arms. Azula shot him an accusing look, smacking his shoulder in reprimand.

Zuko frowned but continued. "This is my sister, Azula. She can't fly yet either."

The young boy only regarded him quizzically.

"Oh, knock it off, Zuzu," Azula scolded.

Suddenly, the Bison began to inhale deeply, drawing the trio's attention.

"Uh-oh!" the strange boy exclaimed, dropping to the ground.

The Bison let loose a powerful sneeze, launching a ridiculously large glob of mucus. Azula quickly stepped to the side, evading it, while Zuko wasn't so lucky. He managed to dodge most of it, but his arm was still hit.

"Euugh!" Zuko shook his arm, attempting to rid the material from his sleeve. Azula even had an expression of disgust on her face.

The beast finally shook itself, standing up on all six of its legs. Definitely exotic, was Azula's first thought, though the novelty of it all was ruined by the snot on her brother's arm. It looked like a Sky Bison, at least from the descriptions given by historical documents she could find in the royal library. Could this boy be..?

"Don't worry, it'll wash out," the bald youth assured with a smile. He folded his hands behind his head. "So where are you guys from?"

"Don't answer that!" Zuko ordered, raising his hands aggressively, for what Azula guessed to be the fourth time. For all we know, he could be alerting a hidden Water Clan ship."

Azula mildly shoved Zuko aside. "I'm sure he's an agent of the Water Navy," she replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm. Look at all that _evil _intent in his eyes."

The boy shrugged, a goofy smile on his face. Azula smiled as well, amused.

"This overprotective dum-dum is my brother, Zuko," she introduced. She could overhear Zuko sucking his teeth at the oft-used semi-insult. "You never introduced yourself," she added, a clear invitation for the stranger to speak."

"Oh! I'm A..." The boy paused in his introduction, holding up his hands. With a mighty sneeze, he flew several feet into the air before landing gracefully on his feet. Any other person could have broken their legs landing from that height, especially if they weren't an Earthbender...

"I'm Aang!" the youth said cheerfully, sniffing once and rubbing his nose.

"You sneezed and flew twenty feet in the air," Zuko calmly observed, as if Aang wasn't aware. Aang raised a brow, turning to look at the sky.

"You sure? It felt higher than that."

"You're an airbender!" Azula announced, stepping closer to get a better look at Aang's tunic. Aang stood still, feeling a bit awkward as Azula tugged at different parts of his tunic and cloak.

Zuko shook his head, climbing out of the exit created by the pillar of light from earlier. His sudden exit drew Azula's attention.

"Where are you going?" She asked, finally releasing Aang's fabric from her hands.

"Back home where things aren't crazy," Zuko replied without looking back.

Once making it out of the large hole, he surveyed the area trying to spot he and Azula's ship.

Aang dropped down next to him as if he'd fell from the sky. Seeing as he was an airbender, he probably did. Azula arrived shortly after Aang.

"I can give you a ride on Appa if you want?" Aang offered with a shrug.

To his dismay, the remains of their ship was scattered in the water surrounding the island. Pieces of wooden framework also seemed to be jutting from the ground like it was thrown there.

"It was your idea to use a wooden ship," Azula felt the need to remind him.

Zuko rubbed his face.

"We'd be honored for the ride, Aang," Azula nodded towards him. Aang returned the nod, an unbidden grin appearing on his face.

Aang shook his head, airbending himself onto Appa, whom had already climbed onto the surface.

"I am not getting on that," Zuko said with finality.

Azula was helped onto the Bison's saddle by Aang, and she made herself comfortable, crossing her legs. "Why? Afraid of heights?"

Zuko's expression was unchanged. "Still doubting it can fly," he said as an answer.

"I guess you could hitch a ride on a dragon," Azula admitted. "But then again, they're native to the other end of the fire nation," she continued innocently. "Good luck finding a ride."

So a few minutes had passed, and Appa had three passengers in Aang, Azula, and a brooding Zuko.

"Ok, first-time flyers! Hold on tight!" Aang announced, settling into his spot at the reigns. "Appa, yip-yip!"

Appa growled in response as he began to move, his tail moving up then down. As if they were being launched, Appa ascended into the air, and even Zuko's eyes widened as they increased the distance between themselves and the island.

Then Appa belly-flopped into the water, casting waves on either side of him as he trudged on through the ocean.

"Nice," Zuko sarcastically complimented. Azula shot Zuko a glare which he ignored.

"I'm sure he's just tired," Azula offered, shuffling closer to Aang. He nodded in agreement.

"Once he gets some rest, he'll be soaring through the sky in no time! You'll see!"

Azula smiled, amused at Aang's chipper attitude. She made to move back before noticing Aang still grinning at him.

"Aang? Why are you still smiling at me?"

Aang's eyes widened as if he were told he grew a second head.

"Oh, I was smiling?"

Azula hesitated before smiling again. If anything, Aang's awkwardness was somewhat charming. She shuffled back over to her spot on the saddle.

Aang watched her head back to her spot before noticing Zuko glaring at him. Aang awkwardly waved and Zuko responded by pointing at his own eyes and then at him.

Azula in turn glared at Zuko, who looked away with his arms crossed.

* * *

Sokka stood outside against the ship's guardrailing even after the sun had begun to set. The moon was beginning to rise, and Sokka could feel his connection to the waves strengthening. Pakku appeared from behind him, coming to a stop next to him at the railing.

"I'm going to sleep," he announced, watching Sokka for a reaction.

Sokka only nodded his acknowledgement.

Pakku sighed and crossed his arms, shifting his weight so that his back leaned against the railing. "Sokka, you need to sleep."

"I'm," Sokka stifled a yawn. "I'm totally fine," he continued after a pause, his head snapping back up after beginning to unconsciously lower.

"You have bags under your eyes and you look like you're going to collapse," the older man observed brusquely. "Even if the Avatar is alive," he added, "You'll never find him. Your father, mother, grandfather, and great-grandfather have all tried and failed."

Sokka sighed through his nose.

"Maybe. But _I _have to succeed," he said. "Ever since Mom died, Dad's been..._different_." Sokka looked down at the waves, as if they would provide some quick solution to his troubles. "I need to prove that I'm a worthy heir. Capturing the Avatar is the only way to do that. Either that or..." he left the rest of the sentence unsaid.

Pakku squeezed Sokka's shoulder. "It's why I joined this journey with you." He sighed, looking down at those same waves Sokka had been observing. The moon was reflected quite visibly on it's ever-shifting surface.

"Just don't wear yourself out. The crew needs to see their Prince in high spirits."

Sokka half-smiled. "I appreciate the pep-talk," he said, sincere. "Thanks, Gramps."

Pakku's somewhat pleasant expression dropped almost immediately. He rolled his eyes, heading back to the ship's cabin. "Just this once, I won't say anything," he grumbled. Sokka smiled again, watching as he disappeared back into the ship's interior.


	3. The Boy in the Volcano, Part 3

_A/N: I was able to make this chapter longer and get it out much faster due to having a lot more creative freedom on this one. At this point you can tell the story is beginning to diverge a bit more, though I want it to still retain some of the major story beats._

* * *

It had begun to get dark, and Appa still had yet to take off into the air. Zuko had already decided to get some shut eye, falling asleep while still seated with his back straight and arms crossed. Impressively, it looked like he might even still be awake to the untrained eye.

Azula regarded the moon for a moment before sliding over to where Aang sat. Even though he looked a bit tired, he remained awake, taking in all the sights.

"So, Aang," Azula ventured, waiting for Aang to respond. He did so, turning slightly to acknowledge her.

"Hey, Azula! What's up?"

"Seeing as you're an airbender and all, do you know where the Avatar could have gone?"

Aang seemed to wince at the mention of the title, which Azula found a bit suspicious.

"Uh, well I didn't know him," Aang quickly replied. "I mean I know people who knew him..." Aang turned towards Azula, who looked unconvinced. "I never met him."

Aang was sure that Azula didn't believe him, especially when her eyes narrowed.

Then she shrugged. "Oh, okay," she said, as if she'd already lost interest in the subject. "Good night," she added, shuffling back over to the edge of the saddle. Once Azula turned around to fall asleep, Aang released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

Aang decided that Azula was a tad bit intimidating. He rested the side of his head on a palm, the recent exchange weighing heavily on his mind. He wondered if maybe he should have told the truth.

* * *

"Again!" Pakku ordered, his arms crossed as he watched Sokka face off against two other watervenders.

The two crew men stood at the front end of the ship, arms raised in offensive stances.

Sokka bent his knees slightly, arms raised and palms open.

As if by some unseen cue, the two guards motioned their arms fluidly toward Sokka. The both of them were in sync as a large wave of water rushed towards the Prince. It's volume was easily three times his size.

Adjusting his stance just slightly, Sokka stepped to the side, at an angle toward the two guards. Moving his arms as if to catch the massive wave, he stepped forward, spinning on his heel.

The wave followed suit, guided in the direction Sokka willed it. He stepped forward once more, chopping his arms horizontally toward both guards. The massive wave split into two smaller streams, careening towards them. His attackers caught the waves, bending them back towards the ocean.

"How was that?" Sokka asked, dropping his stance. "Impressive, I know," he added before Pakku could speak.

"No."

Sokka's expression comically dropped. "Oh, come on, what did I do wrong that time?"

"You are waterbending too aggressively," Pakku critiqued, arms still crossed. He spread his arms wide before drawing them in slowly. A massive wave answered his call, rising from the ocean only gently ebb back into the sea. "Waterbending comes from fluidity and control, not from strength."

He again raised one arm, water materializing out of the air as he fluidly thrust his arm towards Sokka. "You only guide the building blocks of water," he continued, as ice collected around Pakku's fingers as he stopped short of Sokka's face, and the ice immediately melted into water, dripping to the floor. "And it manifests as control over water."

He crossed his arms again. "You are too rigid. Run it again," he instructed.

Sokka's shoulders sagged as he groaned melodramatically.

The exercise began again, and this time, Sokka impatiently redirected the water thrown towards him, causing it to hit the two guards from the back.

"Sorry!" Sokka yelled to them. One of the face down guards offered a thumbs up.

The prince turned face Pakku, who maintained an unimpressed look on his face.

"Grandfather," Sokka ventured formally. Pakku raised a brow. Sokka only referred to him formally when he was looking for something.

"The shamans tell us that the Avatar is the Last Airbender," Sokka shrugged. "He's had a literal century to perfect his mastery of the elements. If I'm to beat him, I need to know more than just," Sokka waved his arm like a noodle. "Pushing and pulling."

Pakku groaned inwardly. So that's what this was about.

"So you want to advance your training?"

Sokka's eyes seemed to have a cheery glow about them. "I mean if you insist-"

"No," the older man bluntly shot him down. Sokka sighed. "You still don't have a complete grasp of the basics."

To Pakku's surprise, Sokka dropped to his knees, his face bowed. Then he raised his head, hands folded in front of him.

"Pretty please..?!"

The two guards behind Sokka had finally recovered at this point, glancing at each other. One of them shrugged.

Pakku fumbled for words. "Gh-Stand up!" he ordered. He turned around as Sokka did so. "Fine, I'll teach you the more advanced sets." He distinctly heard a whoop of joy behind him. "But first, we will go over the basics, six more times."

Sokka groaned again, but at least he would finally be learning something new.

* * *

At Zuko's suggestion, they came to a stop at the first city on the outskirts of the Fire Nation capital. Appa exited the water, reaching a dry patch of grass. Once everyone disembarked, Appa shook himself, torrents of water splashed onto Azula and Zuko, who were not standing far enough away.

Zuko grumbled under his breath while both siblings raised the heat around themselves to vaporize the excess water.

"Sorry about that, should have warned you," Aang said good-naturedly.

"It's fine," Azula dismissed, waving a lazy hand. "Zuko, where are we?"

Zuko shook his head. "You would know if you bothered to travel more."

"That isn't what I asked," Azula reminded with enroll of her eyes.

"It's Ci Shan, a small city close to the capital. Aang says Appa needs some rest so I figured we could make a pit stop here," Zuko answered.

"This is perfect!" Aang agreed. "Once Appa is rested, the rest of the way should be no issue." Aang leapt off of Appa's head, his descent slowing before softly landing on the ground.

Azula noticed some residents stepping out of their homes, probably investigating the Sky Bison's rather loud entrance.

An elder man, looking to be in his mid-fourties, approached the group while some residents lagged behind. Recognizing two of them, he bowed deeply. "Prince Zuko, Princess Azula," it is an honor to receive you today. "He stood up. "Is everything okay?" he asked in concern, briefly glancing over to Aang and his Sky Bison. Aang waved excitedly to him, which he returned awkwardly.

"Hello, Uncle Ukano," she greeted, loud enough for Zuko to hear. He face palmed when Aang asked if the man was the "Uncle" he'd been referring to.

"He's not our uncle," Zuko explained to Aang. "This is Ukano, the mayor of this city and my girlfriend's father." Zuko shrugged. "Azula just likes to annoy me about it."

"Well, it does have a better ring to it than 'Father-in-law of my Brother'" Azula pointed out cheekily, eliciting a chuckle from Aang. Even Ukano lightly chuckled, taking no offense.

"We're not even married," Zuko cut in lamely. But by his tone, the unsaid 'yet' was as clear as if he'd decided to shout it at the end.

"Anyway, we're just here to stay the night before continuing on to the Capital," Azula said. Ukano nodded in understanding.

"Then please feel free to come to the estate. We have several guest rooms available."

The group followed Ukano into one of the larger houses. Once he pushed open the doors, Aang vocalized his surprise at all the antiques on display.

"Woah..!" He breathed, zipping over to the assortment of objects that stood on tables, the floor, and hung from walls. "Is that a tsungi horn?!"

"Your friend seems quite excitable," Ukano observed as he led them to the base of the steps.

"Yeah, I don't think he's been to the fire nation in a hundred years," Azula deadpanned.

Ukano blinked once, before realizing it might have been a figure of speech. "I see," he said, unsure. "Well, the second floor here is all guest rooms," he announced. "I'll leave you to it."

"Thank you," Azula said as he departed. She then turned to look at Zuko expectantly.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to elope with your 'not-wife'?"

Zuko coughed, and it looked like his face was redder than normal. "No!" he said, much too quickly. "She's probably sleep," he added, calming down. "It's late anyway and we're leaving in the morning. We need to meet Uncle as soon as possible."

Azula shrugged, about to climb the steps. "Aang!" She called, whispering loudly so as not to alarm Ukano's family. Aang poked his head around the corner.

"There's so much stuff in this place," Aang said as he neared the duo. "The Fire Nation armor on display looks state of the art."

Zuko and Azula shared a look. The armor he must have been referring to was one of Ukano's old soldier uniforms that his father wore before retiring. The uniform wasn't that new and was in the process of getting phased out in the military proper.

If Zuko had been thinking of commenting on it, he didn't say anything.

"I'm going to bed," Zuko declared, heading up the stairs. "We're leaving first thing in the morning."

Aang and Azula ascended the steps together afterwards.

"So what's your uncle like, if you don't mind me asking," Aang asked, hoping to kill the silence as they headed to the guest rooms.

Azula didn't mind, tapping her chin in thought.

"Well, he's the most powerful firebender I know," she answered, clenching a fist triumphantly. "Second only to my father, of course," she leaned closer to Aang's ear. "Don't tell Uncle I said that." Aang snorted in amusement.

"There's only two guest rooms," Aang noted as they reached the second floor. There were two sliding doors, one on either end of the short hallway. The closest door was already shut, which Azula knocked on. It slid open a quarter of the way, revealing half of Zuko's face.

Before Azula could get a word in, Zuko cut her off.

"_Good. Night_," Zuko enunciated before abruptly sliding shut the door.

"Rude much," Azula muttered before turning around.

"Looks like we'll both be using this room," she said, stepping into the room with the opened door, followed by Aang. The room looked quaint enough, with a vanity table with a mirror and stool and a bed with multiple sheets and pillows. It looked barely large enough to fit two people. Azula made for the dresser next to the bed, checking for any spare night clothing.

"I can sleep on the floor," Aang offered, raising a finger as he closed his eyes. "As nomads, we're very close to nature. We can sleep anywhere."

As soon as he finished, a blanket and pillow collided with his face, the sheet having landed on top of him.

"Good," Azula answered, smirking. "I was taking the bed anyway."

Aang chuckled, pulling the blanket off of him and setting it down with the pillow. After wishing good night to each other, he removed his shirt, setting it next to his pillow. He fell asleep rather quickly.

* * *

Still asleep, Aang was suddenly in Appa's saddle, as the Sky Bison drifted through the clouds. The same clouds began to stretch and darken though, and it seemed as if the temperature was dropping too. Aang fidgeted in his nap, groggily remembering he was supposed to have a blanket on him.

A peak of thunder jolted him awake. Opening his eyes, he saw nothing but dark sky, lightning, and rain everywhere.

"Ah!" Aang exclaimed, feeling his stomach drop as Appa suddenly began to descend.

Without moving, he was suddenly atop Appa's head with the reigns in his grip.

Struggling to keep his breathing under control, Aang tried redirecting Appa upwards, but the airbender could feel the wind forcing Appa towards the ocean.

The sound of the rain and raging wind suddenly became muted as they both crashed into the water, his separation from Appa only stopped by his loose grip on Appa's reigns with a single hand.

Then he felt an energy surge through him as his eyes opened and light suddenly filled the immediate area. His arms moved on their own as he slammed his fists together and a sphere of air expanded rapidly around him and then Appa. The sphere then began to freeze over and-

"Aang! Aang wake up!"

Aang gasped, jumping from his prone position, fighting the blanket for freedom.

"Aang, my impatient brother is ready to move on," she clarified as the boy calmed down, finally removing the sheets from his face. There's a bath downstairs," she announced, pulling back as Aang stood up, reaching for his shirt.

Unnoticed by Aang, Azula observed the exposed tattoos on his back with interest as he pulled his shirt back on.

Azula stepped towards the sliding door, pulling Aang along as soon as his shirt was on. "I'll show you where the bath is."

Once Aang had finished washing up and was dressed, he headed back outside to see that Azula and Zuko were already there, along with a modest crowd of residents.

He bowed respectfully, but the townspeople just observed him warily, blank looks on their faces.

"Uh, why is everyone staring at me like that?" he asked. He checked his clothing. "Did Appa manage to sneeze on me?"

"Well, we haven't seen an Airbender in at least 100 years," Ukano spoke up, answering Aang's question. "We thought they were extinct."

Aang shuddered at the answer. "Extinct?" Aang parroted, unbelieving.

Zuko took advantag of the silence to snatch Aang's staff out of his hand. "What is this, a staff?" Zuko took an experimental swing with it. "Feels much too flimsy to be a striking weapon."

Aang gestured with a hand, and for Zuko it seemed like the staff broke free from his grip as if delivered to Aang's open palm through a vacuum. Zuko blinked in muted shock at the display.

"Not for striking," Aang corrected, amused. "It's for airbending!" He held the staff out vertically, and wings popped out of either side of it, making the prince jump slightly in surprise.

"Woah, magic!" a little girl in the crowd exclaimed. "Do it again!"

"Not magic, airbending," Aang answered patiently. He simulated movement with his staff-turned glider. "It let's me control the air currents around my glider and fly."

"Huh," Zuko sounded, admittedly impressed by the statement.

"Check this out!" he shouted, breaking into a run before jumping. A guest of wind followed, making Azula and Zuko shield their faces from the turbulence.

Aang didn't come down. He began soaring in the air as if gravity was a concept he chose to ignore.

Collective gasps came from the townspeople, and more children ran to the front of the crowd, cheering.

"He's flying!"

"He's a bird!"

Aang grinned broadly, wishing he could impress the townspeople and Azula more, but thought better of it. There weren't any safe spots for him to pull off any cool tricks. So with a flourish, he landed back where he took off from, retracting the wings and spinning his staff unnecessarily.

"Very impressive! You must already be a master at airbending," Azula commented, a bit envious of the sheer skill he exhibited. Aang waved off the praise.

"I'm alright," he said modestly.

"Alright, people, that's enough gawking!" Ukano said to the city's residents, waving them back towards the houses. "Lets afford the royal family and their friend some privacy," he said, herding them away from the group.

"I can tell just by looking at you, you must be amazing at firebending!" Aang said to Azula.

"Well, of course," she shrugged, as if it were obvious. "However, with Father off in the Earth Kingdom and Uncle being so busy as Fire Lord in the meantime, our training's been put on indefinite hold."

"Well, that's not right," Aang said simply. "A firebender should master fire," he said as Zuko walked over to them.

"Hey, what about the legendary temple of the ancient firebenders?" he asked, encouraged to continue by Azula's raised eyebrow. "I don't know the name, but my mentor told me of a secret society that taught a special form of firebending; somewhere near the western air temple."

Zuko shook his head. "We don't have the luxury of fairy tales and traveling the world while a war is going on. We need to get moving."

Azula frowned at Zuko. "But Zuko, aren't you the _least _bit curious of what Aang said? We could complete our training!"

"First off, father forbid us from leaving. Second, we don't know if these 'legendary firebenders' even exist," he countered, complete with air quotes.

"He didn't _forbid _us," Azula retorted. "He just...asked us not to leave.

"Wait, hold on!" Aang spoke up, drawing their attention. "What war?"

Zuko looked at him blankly. "You can't be serious. You know, the war with the Water Clan that's been raging for 100 years?"

"Water _Clan_? If that's the Water Tribes, I have friends in the Water Tribes. All over the world, in fact."

"Exactly how long were you in that volcanic rock?" Azula questioned, crossing her arms. Aang scratched his head.

"I don't know, maybe a few days?"

"Try 100 years," Zuko cut in.

"What?" Aang rounded on Zuko. "That doesn't make sense," he said, slightly accusing in his tone. "Do I look like a 112 year old man to you?"

"Be that as it may," Azula added. "It would explain a lot," she said, looking Aang up and down.

"That would answer why you've never known about the war, and how long you've been stuck in that volcano."

Aang looked around before walking over to Appa, slumping to the ground as he leaned on Appa's fur. Azula and Zuko followed him over.

"Can't believe it's been 100 years," Aang said once they were in earshot.

"Well, it can't be _all _bad, right?" Azula attempted to comfort him. Zuko glanced at Azula questioningly from hearing her lame statement, and she shrugged, wincing at her own comment.

"Well, I got to meet you," Aang said after thinking it over. "And Zuko too!" he quickly amended at his own slip up. Azula smiled at his renewed cheerfulness.

"We should probably get going," Zuko reminded, climbing back on Appa. Aang agreed, airbending himself onto Appa's head before helping Zuko pull Azula into the saddle.

* * *

Sokka lowered his telescope after observing the flying bison as it soared through the air towards the fire nation capital.

"I've finally got him," he said in anticipation. From what he could tell, the beast was able to fly for about 1 hour non-stop before resting. The Fire Nation Capital was still half a day away and according to his map, there were a few towns and villages in between the journey.

"At the speed we're going, we can intercept him before he gets too close to the fire nation capital. Most of their army is away from their mainland, so this should be a piece of cake."

Pakku stood at the railing an arm's length away from him, observing the metallic frame of their ship as it cut through the water. "I must also remind you we only have this one ship and crew," he said drily. We're not exactly equipped for a drawn out conflict if it were to come to one."

"Like I said, piece of cake," he said, inclining his head towards his grandmother's fiancee. "We cut him off at one of the small towns. Mission accomplished!" he said confidently. "We go back home, and everyone lives happily ever after."

Pakku didn't answer, only stroking his mustache in deep thought.


	4. Ch 2: The Avatar Returns, Part 1

So the Bison could really fly, Zuko thought. Wind whipped his hair as Appa sped through the air. Azula seemed aloof at the revelation, although on closer inspection, Zuko noticed that his sister had been gripping the saddle's edge tight enough to turn her knuckles white. Zuko chose not to comment on it, lest he get a verbal tongue lashing from her.

Appa beat his great tail against the air currents, propelling them forward. Aang turned slightly, glancing at them before facing forward again.

"What's you guys' dad like?" He asked, curiosity apparent in his voice.

"Our father?" Zuko asked aloud, glancing up at the airbender's bald head. He looked down at his feet for a moment, thinking about it. After their father left to personally lead the war effort against the Water Clan, thoughts of his father were far and few in between.

"He's a proud man," Zuko began, suddenly realizing he was at a loss for words. He left so long ago.

"He left for the war when I was 14 and Azula was 12." At Aang's questioning look, he clarified by mentioning that it was 2 years ago. "He's strict, but he cares about us." Zuko could feel Azula's eyes on him. "He's one of the most powerful firebenders in the nation," he continued, a small smile gracing his features as he looked towards the clouds.

"What about your parents?" Azula asked. The abruptness of it almost seemed as though she wanted to change the subject. "What were they like?"

Aang shrugged. "I never knew them. I grew up under my mentor, Monk Gyatso," he said. He didn't exactly sound sad, Azula noticed, but there was something akin to melancholy in his voice.

"He was my airbending Master and taught me how to make fruit pies!" He sounded a lot happier. "I guess you could say he was the closest thing I had to a Dad." He turned around again. "What about your mom?" He asked the both of them. Zuko seemed about to answer, but Azula cut him off.

"She left," Azula answered, tone short. She didn't bother elaborating, and Zuko looked at his sister from the corner of his eye, but did not add onto it.

"Maybe some other time, Aang," Zuko said, looking down. Aang sensed there was more to it than that, but he could read the mood. He didn't push it.

Thankfully, the awkward silence was short lived as they approached the town. Although it was closer to the Capital than the city that Ukano oversaw was, this settlement looked more like a village that was a distance away from the well travelled main road that could be easily spotted from their vantage point.

Aang guided Appa toward a clearing near the village. Zuko and Azula braced themselves for what they assumed would be a rough landing, but the Sky Bison landed quite gracefully on his pairs of fore legs. The only indication of their landing was a slight bump.

Aang leaped down from atop Appa's head. Zuko and Azula followed suit, a bit unsteady on their feet from being airborne so long.

"Judging from the distance, this should be our last pit stop," Zuko announced, shielding his eyes from the glaring rays of the sun. He surveyed the general direction of the Fire Nation Capital. He could see the dormant volcano containing the palace, as small as his little finger in the distance.

Ahead of the clearing was a dirt path that led into the village. The village itself was obscured from view by the line of trees encircling the settlement.

"I'm going to get some food while here," Azula said as they followed the dirt path. They still had about another few hours before they got to the palace.

"We can eat at the palace," Zuko argued, making Azula roll her eyes. She did have a point, Zuko thought, though he wouldn't admit it openly. There was still a few hours left before they reached the palace, taking into account Appa's need to rest. A grumbling sound joined their conversation, and Aang grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, that was me." He patted his stomach. "I haven't eaten in a while."

"If we'd gotten food at Uncle Ukano's, this would be a non-issue," the princess said, scuffing the tip of her boot on the ground.

Zuko sighed, remembering that he had rushed them earlier in the morning. Even his own stomach seemed to cramp in protest.

"I hate when you do that," Zuko grumbled to his sister, scratching his forehead. Azula simply shrugged, having enough mercy not to comment.

"Fine," the eldest of the group reluctantly relented, turning around. "I'm going to check on seeing if there's any updated maps. He turned back to the two. "Once Appa's rested, it should take an hour or less to get to the capital."

"Sounds good to me!" Aang nodded, and Azula pulled him along further into the settlement.

* * *

The village itself was quite modest. While it didn't have the grand buildings like the Capital, it had a comfortable atmosphere. Many of the structures were constructed of a sturdy wooden material, with sloping roofs that vaguely resembled the buildings closer to the palace.

"This place, very quaint," Azula critiqued. Her and Aang walked past several stalls advertising wares before they came to one with food.

"Are those Fire Flakes?" Aang asked, pointing at a red food that looked like berries. The vendor, a kind looking man with a beard, nodded. "The hottest in this region."

Azula raised a brow. "Have you ever had Fire Flakes?" she asked, already pulling out a small pouch she carried on her.

"I remember they're a little spicy," Aang answered, scratching his chin. "It was Kuzon's -a friend of mine's- favorite," he added, a wistful smile on his face.

Azula had a knowing grin on her face as she offered a handful of fire flakes to him.

"They're _definitely_ quite savory," she said, an innocent smile on her face as she looked away.

Aang took the offered flakes, stuffing them in his mouth, to the girl's mild surprise.

"Aang, you're not supposed to-"

"Water!" the airbender exclaimed, his face heating up and almost looking red.

Azula covered her mouth, holding in a laugh as he ran for the nearest body of water. She followed him, past the edge of the village and through the tree line. She pushed errant branches out of her way, coming into a clearing that looked similar to the one they'd left Appa in.

She was ready to berate Aang about stuffing his mouth with strange foods, but the words died in her mouth. Aang had his back to her, his attention completely focused on a large ship beached on the lake.

Or what was left of it.

The ship was massive. It was broken into two sections, it's rear half partly submerged into the water. The front end was dry, but positioned sideways. Scorch Mark's were littered all over the vessel, the interior clearly visible from the outside.

"I thought it was a fire nation ship because it was metal," Aang said to her, aware of her presence. "But it has water tribe markings."

Azula was silent as she neared Aang, examining the wrecked warship. It had a blue coat of paint that was somewhat faded with age, and a large Water Tribe insignia was plastered on the side, ironically the most undamaged part of the ship, as if it were proclaiming to the world who it's maker was.

"This thing is ancient," Azula commented. Aang turned to regard her this time.

"How do you know?"

Azula pointed to the ship. "See the frame? It's still made of wood," she explained. Aang followed her finger as she then pointed to the sails. "Water Clan ships use metal and steel now. Much like our own ships."

"Let's go check it out!" Aang proposed, his curiosity piqued.

Azula hesitated for a moment, watching the ship ruins warily. "We probably shouldn't be loitering around in there!" She followed after him. "It could be filled with traps...or something," she warned.

"To be a master firebender, you have to conquer fear," Aang said, looking back.

Azula scoffed. "I am _not _afraid," she shot back, pushing past him and into the ship. Aang blinked and followed closely behind into the ruins.

The ship was larger than it looked from a distance. Wood seemed to constantly be creaking, and the sound travelled everywhere, as if ghosts of the past were shuffling around in the defunct vessel. They could distinctly hear the sound of water dripping and could smell soot and ash even though the battle that took place here had to have been decades ago.

The hallway they walked through was dark and damp, and Azula decided that she wasn't a big fan of travelling.

"This place is dirty and disgusting," Azula scoffed, playing with one of the bangs of hair framing her face.

"Are all Water Clan ships this big?" Aang asked, poking at weapons they came across that were suspended on a rack. There were bone clubs, some boomerangs, and spears.

"Why? Did they use to be smaller?"

Aang nodded. "Yeah, this ship's big enough to hold three Appas!" he said, holding out his hands as if it aided his explanation. "The ones I always saw could hold just one, at most. And even those were rare."

Stepping away from the weapons, he jogged over to another room, turning a corner.

"Watch where you're going, Aang," Azula scolded, running after him. "There could still be traps here."

"Aang?" Azula said his name again when he didn't answer. She looked around, noticing they were in the bridge of the ship. From the angle the ship was wrecked, apparently they had gotten to a higher level of the craft. Looking at Aang, she noticed the remains on the ground.

"There really was a war," the airbender said, his shoulders drooping.

Aang's head was dipped, and across from him were bodies strewn about. Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, and Fire Nation.

The presence of Earth Kingdom remains explained some of the rocks jutting into the ship at seemingly random angles, Azula observed. She stepped forward, placing a comforting hand on Aang's shoulder.

"Let's get out of here," Azula insisted and her friend nodded.

"Sorry I dragged us out here," he sighed, heading back towards the hallway they came in from. Azula didn't answer, not willing to mention that she somewhat volunteered to go in.

"No harm done, I suppose," Azula dismissed. As they began to leave, however, they both heard a distinct snapping sound, like a taut rope being cut. Irrationally, they both looked back towards the ancient skeletons, which had not moved.

"Uh-oh."

Azula rounded on Aang, who was looking down at the wall near them.

They had activated a tripwire.

wodden mechanisms along the wall set off in a chain reaction before finally, a flare launched from behind them into the sky. Even worse, the ship itself seemed to have deemed it time to begin collapsing. Wood and stone fell around them as the sudden activation of the trap destabilized part of the ship ruins.

"Hang on tight!" Aang suddenly yelled, sweeping her off her legs and carried her bridal style. She shouted in protest as he _leaped _out of the hole above them, and Azula was disoriented by the sudden and extreme change in height.

Before she knew it, she was being gently set down on her feet by Aang and they were a fair distance from the ruins as it partially caved in. The two looked up, seeing the flare explode into a contained blue firework display.

"Warn me before you do that," Azula warned accusingly.

"I did say 'hang on'," Aang said apologetically with a shrug." Azula sucked her teeth.

* * *

Aang and Azula backtracked into the village, only to be intercepted by Zuko in the middle of the path, his arms crossed. Behind him was a hesitant crowd of villagers. A majority of them were elderly, women, and children.

"Don't we have some more time before we leave?" Azula asked him.

"Step away from him, Azula," Zuko ordered, his tone even. Azula frowned at his sudden shift in mood.

"What are you talking about?"

"That was a Water Clan flare," Zuko answered in the way of explanation. "And it just so happens to go off with the airbender here, now?"

"Zuko, you're overreacting," Azula gestured towards Aang and herself. "It was an accident! We just went exploring."

"Yeah," Aang scratched the back of his head. "Azula warned me the ship might be boobytrapped," he admitted, a downcast expression on his face. "And well, we booby-ed right into it."

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. "Azula, you know better than anybody about acting on impulse. You shouldn't have gone on that ship," he gestured an open hand behind him. "Now this whole village is in danger! This area is still too close to Water Clan outposts! Most of the men left for the war. This place is defenseless."

"Please, Zuko, don't blame Azula. It was my fault."

"So, you admit it," Zuko retorted almost immediately. "You need to leave," he said, pointing in the general direction of where Appa was resting. "I need to see if there's a messenger hawk." He looked at Azula. We need to notify Uncle about the flare."

"You're making a mistake, Zuko," Azula ran a hand through her hair. "We could use his help, he's our fastest route back."

"I'm keeping my promise to father to protect you!" Zuko retorted. "He's attracting too much danger."

"He's not the enemy!" His sister nearly shouted at him. "Since we've found him, he's brought some much needed levity."

"We can't fight waterbenders with 'levity'" Zuko retorted dryly.

"You should try it some time," Aang suggested with a shrug.

"Go. Away," Zuko nearly snapped.

"Then I'm leaving with him," Azula hissed, grabbing Aang's arm. The airbender almost tripped forward from the sudden movement.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zuko asked her retreating form.

"Aang's taking _me _to find the Sun Warriors," she grit her teeth. Aang brightened at the mention of traveling. "I am? Great!"

Zuko ran forward to intercept them. "We have a responsibility to the Nation, Azula, we can't just leave."

Azula stopped walking, head bowed.

"Azula," Aang pulled away. "I don't want to get between you two." He faced Zuko, bowing respectfully. "Sorry for the trouble," he apologized, making his way back towards the village and to Appa.

Once Aang disappeared past the line of trees, Zuko reached towards his sister.

"Azula, I-"

She smacked her brother's hand away, glaring at him. "Happy now, _dum-dum_?" she asked rhetorically, eyes smoldering. "There goes my one chance at mastering firshending!" She stomped away towards the village, leaving Zuko in the field.

He felt like the bad guy here, but he shook his head, ridding those thoughts from his mind. Father had tasked him to keep her safe, and he would do that whether she appreciated it or not. He took a deep breath to focus, marching back towards the village. He needed to send a messenger hawk to the palace and prepare for an attack.

* * *

Sokka looked at the war paint in the bowl for a long moment. He blinked once, sighing, before deciding to put it away. He wasn't here to raid a village or anything like that. He just needed the Avatar. He would find him and his mission would be complete. His place as heir would be assured and things would go back to normal.

He stepped out of his room on the ship, and two attendants stood at the ready, holding his Royal Wolf Armor, ready to dress him in it. He raised his hand, instead taking the uniform from them. The attendants bowed respectfully and casted the hallway. He would put the armor on himself. Returning to the room with the attire in hand, he looked over the insignia on the chest plate. Three conjoined moons, displayed horizontally. The symbol of the Water Clan for as long as he could remember.

After securing the straps of the torso armor, he placed the wolf helmet atop his head.

* * *

_A/N: I have more I wanted to add to this chapter, but decided to cut off here and just continue on next chapter. _


	5. The Avatar Returns, Part 2

When at first there was the sounds of crickets, fire ferrets, and other cries of wildlife to accompany the daily routine of the villagers, there was now only silence.

The silence felt oppressive, really. Zuko could hear the crunch of the grass as he stepped forward towards the shoreline. He looked behind him to make sure the villagers stood back. Even after his warnings, he wasn't sure if it was morbid curiosity that kept them nearby. They stayed close to the dirt path leading back to the village. The fear of the unknown kept their curiosity from completely overriding their common sense.

A massive ship approached, it's metallic hull reflecting light from its blue tinted paint job.

It cut easily through the water. The vessel looked like a giant knife from the front. It was shaped just like the old water tribe ships of the past, but reinforced metal replaced wood, now, and it was twice, no, three times as big.

As the massive ship neared the shoreline where Zuko stood, the Prince swallowed.

For all his training, Zuko had no live combat experience. Yes, he was trained by perhaps one of the two most powerful firebenders alive in his father, Fire Lord Ozai, but he was yet to be exposed to the war in person. And his training was still incomplete. He wasn't sure if he was truly ready to face a real enemy.

To face actual waterbenders.

Zuko grounded his feet, prepared to defend or attack as necessary.

The ship's hull cut through the ground like a hot knife through butter before slowing to a stop. Water Clan ships were built ridiculously sturdy. They had to be, in order to combat the Earth Kingdom's benders, who could otherwise overturn the ship with ease. The ship cut right into the soil, rock, and earth of the shore, acting as it's own anchor as it parked partway into land.

Zuko heard footsteps behind him, and he saw that Azula had returned to the clearing to back him up. She had left to see Aang off. It was the last time she'd see him again, after all. For a fleeting moment, Zuko wondered if he should have at least said goodbye to him. Maybe he might have been too harsh.

But it didn't matter right now. The Water Clan was here.

The nose of the ship that looked like a danger's serrated blade, suddenly began to groan, and what looked like a faint horizontal line on the hull became more pronounced as it lowered into a ramp. As it descended, it was too dark to see inside from the angle Zuko stood. He tightened a fist, settling into a stance. The smoke pouring out of the chimney of the steel monolith suddenly faded before disappearing and the loud grumble of its engine cut off almost instantly.

Three figures emerged from the ship's ramp. The lead man caught his attention immediately. He led the other two men, who flanked either side of him. They all wore armor artfully mixed with furs of some exotic animal, while the lead soldier's armor seemed to look more ornate and have a shinier coat of fur lining it. Obviously, he was the leader.

The lead Water Clan lead soldier had his head obscured by what looked like the head of a wolf.

Zuko breathed in, then out. Without preamble, he broke into a mad dash, then leaped into the air, kicking forward with all his might. An impressive ball of fire materialized, careening towards the three men. One of them actually got hit, beong bodily knocked backwards.

Emboldened, Zuko punched forward, one fist after another upon landing, hoping to capitalize on his advantage. The second soldier swayed out of the way, however, drawing his sword while doing so.

The lead soldier, the one in ornate armor, raised a warding arm at his still standing guard. The guard sheathed his blade, falling back, but still following behind the leader.

Zuko again ran forward, intent on putting the lead warrior out of commission.

With a shout from the chest, he let loose a confident Kiai, thrusting his left foot and fist outward as he leapt forward. A wave of fire exploded from his attack.

The Water Clan soldier ducked the massive fireball with a quick sidestep, while at the same time swinging his arms forward, open palmed. The sheet of fire washed harmlessly past and he swung his club while his momentum carried him forward. Large volumes of the previously still water surrounding the bladed front of the ship surged forward, forming into a wave that slammed into Zuko's side.

With a groan, he was lifted bodily before crashing into the ground.

The man launched another wave, and Zuko could only gasp, still stunned by the first attack.

Flames interrupted the incoming wave before it collided, evaporating the water into a harmless shower.

Azula stepped over to him, pulling him up to his feet.

"Thanks," he breathed, shaking water out of his hair. Azula said nothing, but nodded.

Both settled into a stance, shoulder to shoulder. They shared a glance, and they both knew the other's thought.

Together.

Chambering their rear arm backwards, they simultaneously punched forward, their individual flames combining into a massive fireball.

* * *

Appa's tired groan left Aang sighing in sympathy. He ruffled his companion's fur, as they trudged through the wide road past the village to some unknown destination.

"Yeah," Aang said, folding his legs atop Appa's head, wishing he didn't feel miserable. "I miss her too." Aang hadn't known the siblings long, but he found his thoughts occasionally drifting to the siblings, especially the princess. Even though he had the suspicion that she knew he was the Avatar, she didn't push the issue at all, and she was a great conversationalist, if very forward in her mannerisms. Honestly, she intimidates him just a bit, but he decided it was in a good, weird kind of way.

And Zuko was a cool guy, he decided, though instead of intimidating, he was just straight up scary sometimes.

Out of boredom, he flicked his finger, creating miniature tornados the size of his finger that dissipated seconds after forming.

He would have continued like this, but the sound of an explosion and flashing lights in the distance drew his attention.

Appa groaned and Aang looked back towards the village they vacated.

"I think so too..." Aang agreed, squinting his eyes. Azula and Zuko might be in trouble, he realized after a moment.

"Let's go, buddy! Yip Yip!"

In what sounded like agreement, Appa roared, slamming his tail down. He ascended into the air, circling back around to head back.

Now that they were airborne, Aang had a better vantage point to see what was going on. He could spot a large ship on the shore of the clearing he had left Azula and Zuko...

"A Water Clan ship..." Aang whispered, realizing it matched Azula's description and that it was his first time seeing one. The ship was much larger than he'd seen from the Water Tribes before. Instead of wood, this ship was fashioned from metal, and smooth to a point where it looked like a large blade at a certain angle. Fading smoke was spewing from a tall column that was the chimney of the vessel. The whole thing looked intimidating and would have been more sensical for it to have been a fire nation ship.

"So many things changed in a hundred years," Aang lamented. Frowning, he steeled himself as he guided Appa towards the clearing. He already failed everyone once when he ran away from home. He wasn't going to fail Azula, his first friend in a long time. With that in mind, Aang grabbed his staff from the saddle, readying himself to leap once Appa got close enough.

* * *

They'd failed, Azula thought bitterly to herself. She and Zuko tried to overpower the Water Clan soldier with a combined fire blast, but he'd simply evaded it. Next thing she knew, the both of them were frozen in ice up to their shoulders.

Their mysterious attacker approached them, removing his helmet while he did so.

Azula was surprised to note that he was about the same age as them. He looked to be no older than Zuko. His skin was tan like most people of the Water Clan, and his eyes were a striking blue. His hair was pulled back into a short tail of some sort.

The teen scratched his chin, looking them over as of expecting someone else.

"Where's the Avatar?" he asked, looking both her and Zuko in the eye. His two soldiers stood to his flanks, and more poured out of the ship as they moved to surround the observing villagers before they could run.

Azula mentally kicked herself. In her excitement, she neglected to move the villagers away.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Azula spat, glaring at the waterbender. The foreigner looked unimpressed as he walked past them, observing the captive villagers.

"Look," he said tiredly, as he walked back over to the siblings, hands on his hips. "I'm not gonna harm the villagers or anything. Just tell me where you're hiding him, and we'll be on our way."

"We don't know," Zuko said slowly. "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you," he added. Azula wished she had the freedom of movement to smack the back of her brother's head. Comments like that only served to instigate, and their captors annoyed look only confirmed this.

"Bring them over here," he ordered to his soldiers. Zuko and Azula both frowned, attempting to look behind them, but it turned out it was unnecessary. The Water Clan soldiers dragged some civilians over to where they stood frozen. It was some of the elderly villagers, too afraid to speak.

"Leave them alone, they're just elderly!" Azula cried, struggling against the ice. She sorely wished that their father had taught them to melt ice. They could dry themselves fine, but they didn't have the discipline to know how to melt ice prisons. She cursed her ignorance.

"Here they are, Prince Sokka," one of the soldiers said.

Azula's eyes narrowed. So he was the Water Clan's Prince? Now she wished she knew how to generate lightning too.

Without warning, Sokka grabbed one of the elderly btly the shoulder. An old woman, who looked like she might break if she was handled too roughly.

"Unhand her!" Zuko shouted, his helplessness increasing his anger.

"About this age?" Sokka interrogated, ignoring Zuko's demand. "Master of all four elements?!" Sokka glared at each person in his line of sight in turn, all of them cowering in fear except the two siblings. Sokka sighed, pushing the old woman back towards the villagers, not enough to make her fall, but she did stumble. One of the younger villagers was brave enough to run to her aid, helping to guide her back. Sokka placed back and forth, Zuko, Azula, and the villagers watching him warily.

I know you're hiding him," he said irritably, annoyed at this stalemate. He wanted to find the Avatar, but he wasn't necessarily willing to hurt civilians to find him. The two firebenders didn't seem to know that, and he couldn't tell if they were telling the truth or not.

"Fine, I'll let you in on a little secret," Azula said. "Come closer."

Intrigued at her strange tone, Sokka stepped closer. Zuko regarded her curiously and Azula seemed to smirk. Inhaling deeply, Azula suddenly blew flames out of her mouth, which Sokka just barely ducked out of the way of.

"Gah, my wolf tail!" Sokka shouted miserably. He patted his hair cautiously, before pausing to glare at Azula. He slowly raised one arm behind him, and the water appeared to obey him as it rose higher and higher into a large wave.

Azula and Zuko could only look on in fear as it grew to nearly the size of a tidal wave. Was he simply going to just flood them all?

"Looking for me?!" a new voice suddenly shouted.

"Huh?" Sokka looked behind him, not seeing anything but the water he was controlling.

Zuko and Azula, however, noticed something, or rather someone closing in from the air.

With a concentrated grunt, Aang closed in from above swinging his staff sideways. He came to land in front of Zuko and Azula. The air current he'd manipulated sent Sokka flying backwards towards the water. The previously monstrous wave collapsed on itself as it splashed harmlessly back into the lake.

Hey, Azula. Hey, Zuko," he greeted, concentrating, as he surrounded his staff in air currents, strong enough to break the ice around their arms. With their arms free, they were able to melt the rest of the ice with their hands.

"Hey, Aang..." Zuko returned the greeting a bit moodily. "Thanks..."

Sokka pulled himself off the ground, rotating an arm. "Ow."

Observing Aang for a moment, he frowned. "_You're _the Airbender? _You're _the Avatar?"

"What?" Zuko was dumbfounded. "But he's just a kid," he said quietly. But he knew that there were signs that pointed to it. He'd never seen airbenders before Aang, but he was sure that they didn't randomly glow and create light shows.

Sokka was silent as he raised his arms in a stance, judging the distance between himself and Aang.

"I've been training years for this," Sokka said, slowly circling Aang as the airbender did the same. "Meditating, sword training...all to fight some bald kid in a robe?"

Aang briefly looked up, as if trying to inspect the top of his head. "You barely have more hair than I do," he retorted. "And aren't _you_ just a teenager?"

Sokka's face fell into a neutral expression and he gave a signal to his soldiers. Slowly, they all drew closer, flanking Sokka as they all formed a semi circle around the Avatar.

Narrowing his eyes, Aang gripped his staff with both hands in a defensive posture.

"We got your back," Zuko said, dropping into a stance with Azula, the both of them standing at either side of him.

* * *

_A/N: Stopping here for a moment while I gather my thoughts. Will continue next chapter. _


	6. The Avatar Returns, Part 3

_A/N:__Merendinoemiliano: Thanks for the reviews. I'm not a very skilled writer, but I will try my best to follow your critique, thank you._

_To the guest reviewers: __Letting you know now this story is inspired by Ogro's "Distorted Reality" and is somewhat parallel to the canon storyline, so there will be eventual Aang/Azula._

* * *

Time slowed down for all three benders. Zuko, Aang, and Azula all stood facing Sokka and the lake shore, positioned between the Water Clan and the village. The villagers looked on apprehensively. Uncertainty hung in the air of what may happen if the Prince and Princess were defeated or worse, captured here.

"Think we can take them?" Azula asked the other two, her gaze switching between the enemy Prince and his soldiers. Her brother shrugged where he stood while Aang slowly aimed his staff, waiting for someone to make the next move.

As if to answer her question, more soldiers began filing out of the bow of the ship, joining the semi-circle of foes.

Sokka rolled his arms forward again, and the water in the lake obeyed. Some of the new soldiers mimicked the movement, increasing the size and width of the wave.

"..!" Surprised, Zuko clapped his hands together, flames spewing from his fingertips like an oversized whip, attempting to neutralize the offensive. The sheer volume of water made it seem like an impossible task. Even with Azula and Aang's help, with the Princess kicking out whips of flame herself and controlled air currents from the Avatar, dangerous amounts of water still managed to break through.

A torrent of cylinder shaped water crashed into Zuko, flinging him backwards into the dirt. Several soldiers took the chance to go after him, their animal skin boots kicking up dust. Azula turned to see the commotion.

"Aang! Go after the leader! I'll handle the others!" she shouted, punching towards the soldiers while they were distracted. One of them was hit in the back with concussive fire, knocking him unconscious as he hit the ground painfully. Aang nodded, though she already turned away.

Sokka made the first move, opting to draw his bone club from his sheath. Forgoing his bending for the moment, he sprinted towards the Avatar, swinging his weapon practiced ease.

Taking stock of his surroundings, Aang saw the massive Water Clan ship and the lake. The area was wide open, which worked to his advantage. Keeping the away end of his staff close to his chest, he used it as a guide to constantly nudge the Water Prince off target. Sokka managed to block the rare offensive attack from Aang's staff, but every thrust from himself was redirected by Aang.

"Darn it, kid, hold still!" Sokka shouted, attempting to reign in his frustration. Aang stuck his tongue out in concentration, ducking under Sokka's latest swing, and sliding over the ground under his opponent's legs. Kicking out with the assistance of an air current, Sokka was launched bottom up before landing painfully on his side near his ship.

Losing patience, Sokka jumped back to his feet and chopped sideways with his hand, throwing volumes of water towards Aang and his friends. Aang twirled his staff, allowing a cyclone of air to protect him from the attack. Zuko and Azula weren't so lucky.

Startled by the attack and thrown backwards, Zuko and Azula were caught in another ice prison by the soldiers. Those who could not bend raised their weapons at the siblings.

"If they bend, they get hurt," Sokka warned.

Aang looked back, seeing his friends trapped in ice up to the neck. The backdrop of trees almost looked ominous in the setting. Feeling helpless, Aang looked down, then at his staff, weighing his options.

He sighed internally, knowing what he had to do. He got them all into this mess. It was his responsibility to get them out of it.

Twirling his staff once, he held it in one hand, pointing his glider as if offering it to his enemy.

"If you let them go...I'll go with you," he said slowly.

Sokka hesitated a moment before relaxing, and nodded his head once. Without a word, he took Aang's offered staff and gestured for his men to return to the ship. As if they just weren't in a fight, the soldiers all settled back into a single-file line, following Aang and Sokka back up the ramp.

"Aang! Don't!" Azula tried to warn him as the slab of metal rose from the ground with an audible crunch. Hearing her exclamation, Aang turned around, smiling reassuringly. As the shadows of the closing ramp washed over him, his smile faded. The ramp was closed, and Azula's eyes narrowed as the ship's engine came to life.

* * *

Melting the ice off of themselves took a while longer this time. The ice was thicker and more resilient, but they did have the additional help of the villagers who did what they could to free them.

Thankfully, they were both out of the ice now.

If father were here, this never would have happened.

Azula angrily stared at the ground as they both walked from the clearing. Neither of them had an idea of what to do next. Azula wanted to rescue Aang somehow, but she wasn't sure of the next step, and was certain that Zuko was glad he was gone.

"Azula-"

"What, Zuko?" she cut off impatiently, her own conclusions still fresh in her mind. She rolled her eyes. "Going to say '_told you so_'," she continued sarcastically, imitating Zuko's voice as their feet crunched fallen leaves while they walked. Zuko frowned at the barb.

"I was _going_ to say I was sorry," Zuko retorted, unable to keep some venom from entering his voice.

Azula cringed at the response, unable to look Zuko in the eyes. "Oh..."

Zuko sighed, his tone softening. "I was wrong," he said, tousling his hair absentmindedly. "He's just a kid that needs help."

"Well, glad you finally realized it," Azula couldn't help but snark. Zuko said nothing.

"Follow me," he insisted, breaking into a light jog. They had entered the village at this point, and Zuko ignored this as he continued to run.

"Where are we going?" Azula raised her voice so she could be heard. They just passed the market stalls they had past when they first arrived.

They past the village entirely, stopping at another clearing.

"Appa," Azula realized, seeing the Bison in the clearing. Groaning lightly, the fluffy beast gave Azula a large lick as she approached.

"Ugh..."

Zuko snorted at the sight of Azula covered in Appa's slobber. He walked up to the Bison, placing a hand on Appa's nose.

"I'm sure you were expecting someone else...Aang's in trouble," Zuko said, head bowed. "Will you help us?" Azula looked at her brother in surprise.

Appa roared as if agreeing, nuzzling his large nose against Zuko's palm.

"So, you're going after Aang," Azula asked, relieved.

"_We're _going after him," he corrected, a smile on his face.

"Hold on, children," another voice cut in, making them jump.

"Uncle!" Zuko recognized the voice first. The siblings looked behind them to see Fire Nation soldiers wading through the trees, followed by a palanquin carried by four attendants. Iroh jumped out of the vehicle almost as soon as it stopped. He sighed, almost looking relieved to be on solid ground.

"Ah, to be on solid ground again," he breathed, actually having kneeled down to kiss the grass.

Zuko ran over to pull him into a hug and Azula came over, standing off to the side of her brother.

"Don't deny your dear old Uncle a hug, Azula," Iroh scolded cheerfully, pulling her into the embrace.

"Hello, Uncle..." Azula greeted at a mumble, face coloring in embarrassment.

"I am sorry I could not get here sooner," Iroh said solemnly, releasing them from the hug. "I saw the flash of light, and I came as soon as I could."

"They took the Avatar," Azula replied, her tone urgent. She ran a hand through her hair. "Now, I know it's dangerous," Azula ventured, hoping she could convince Uncle. He raised a hand, though, gently cutting her off.

"I am not here to stop you," Iroh said, smiling as if he knew some secret. He waved over to one of the attendants at the Palanquin.

"Zuko, I took the liberty of bringing these to you."

Zuko's eyes widened, seeing the weapons the attendant brought. "My Dao swords..."

"And this is for you, my niece," Iroh continued, reaching into the folds of his robe. He pulled out a stylized hairpin. It was red with a red flame decal attached to it.

"My crown," Azula said softly. Her face fell remembering all the memories associated with it.

Her mother helped fix her hair into the traditional topknot, where it would be perfect. Every time.

_Azula, y__ou've always had such beautiful hair_.

"Thank you, Uncle," Azula said sincerely. She didn't know how she felt about Mother right now, but she knew she was grateful Iroh had brought it. Shaking her head, another thought came to her. "How did you know _we'd _be here?"

"When I saw that beam of light," Iroh said, glancing at the Bison, "I knew that Avatar had returned. Both of your destinies are linked to his," Iroh hesitated before ushering the two onto the Bison. "Explanations can come later. You must hurry if you are to catch up with the Water Clan."

Zuko squeezed Iroh's shoulder. "Thank you, Uncle." Iroh returned the gesture with a nod before bidding them farewell.

Zuko and Azula rushed to clamber onto Appa.

Zuko scratched his head once he got ahold of the reigns. "What was it he said-"

"Yip, Yip!" Azula cut in.

With a loud roar, Appa slammed his tail onto the ground, launching into the air. Iroh and men shielded their faces as the displaced wind whipped at both the loose folds of their clothing and the forest. The trees swayed with the wind.

Iroh smiled as he lowered his arm. Great things awaited those two, he thought wistfully.


	7. The Avatar Returns, Part 4

_A/N: So I had gotten sick this past week and this flu was making me feel like Zuko during his identity crisis. I got through the worst, and it feels like it's breaking now, so I found the time to post this. I didn't intend for it, but this chapter got close to 4k words, lol. Please let me know your feedback in the reviews._

* * *

The Water Clan ship cut easily through the water, and it barely swayed at all.

Aang had to admit that it was impressive. It felt like the ship wasn't moving at all, even though it was cutting through the water like a otter-penguin at full speed, sledding through snow. The village where Aang had surrendered was a distant speck at this point, and the Sun was beaming high above in the sky. The ship's impressive speed was making the landmass disappear quickly, and the ocean and it's waves were quickly dominating their immediate surroundings.

The young Avatar glanced around quickly from where he stood with his arms bound behind him with tied rope. The deck was very spacious, and guard rails could be seen if a passenger looked far enough ahead in any direction. They seemed almost redundant in Aang's mind though, seeing as how most of the ship's occupants were adept at guiding the ocean's tides. Sokka, Pakku, and a couple of soldiers stood on the deck with the captive Aang, and the young boy's attention was drawn when the Water Prince neared him. He tensed at the sudden approach.

"Interesting choice of weapon," Sokka said distractedly, Aang's glider in his hand. He was observing the staff intently, eyeing it as if it were some foreign object. "You can't stab anything with this..."

"That's because you don't stab things with it," Aang replied patiently, shrugging as best he could from his current position. Sokka eyed him suspiciously, as if he were talking nonsense. Maybe to the Water Prince, he was, if Azula's claim was true. From what Aang could see of the state of the world so far, he had no reason to doubt her. He sighed softly at his predicament.

For what it was worth, though, Sokka was a surprisingly amicable captor, if that made any sense. He told Aang that he was free to walk the entirety of the ship, with a full escort of armed guards and his hands remaining tied, of course. He would be offered food, and Sokka apparently knew airbenders were vegetarians, as silly as the diet choice seemed to the waterbender.

"Sorry, kid, but this is staying in my room," Sokka announced, twirling the staff once. "This might make an interesting gift to my dad," Sokka continued, handing it off to an older man (Aang remembered Sokka called him Master Pakku). Sokka seemed to wince at his own comment. Weren't airbenders raised by monks?

"No offense," The teen felt the need to add with a cough.

Aang blinked once. "None taken?" he answered in the form of a question. Sokka's demeanor, while not unwelcome, was understandably a little off-putting.

"Take him to the brig!" Sokka declared in an uncharacteristically official sounding voice and a flourish of his arm, marching back towards the deck. Pakku and his crew of soldiers followed him. One of the three soldiers, an average looking crewman, blue parka with white trim and a wolf helmet like his other two peers, spoke up.

"Uh, sir, we don't _have _a brig."

Sokka halted his march, scratching his temple. "Wait, we don't have a brig?" he echoed unbelievingly.

Pakku resisted the strong urge to roll his eyes from where he stood.

Sokka whirled around, eyeing his soldiers. "How were we gonna hold the Avatar with _no cell _to hold him in?"

His soldiers stood there, not sure how to answer. The Avatar eyed his captors curiously, his gray eyes narrowed as if he were judging their intelligence. In any other circumstances, these people seemed pretty harmless.

All of them were commissioned to assist the Water Prince on his mission, but they weren't appraised of the layout of the ship until after it set sail...Not to mention it was assumed Sokka already knew.

"Who even chose this thing?" Sokka sighed, smacking his hand against his face.

Perhaps he _didn't _know, after all, came the united thoughts of the nearby soldiers.

One of the troops coughed and another spoke up to answer his question. Sokka couldn't be sure it was the same person.

"We thought _you _did," one of the soldiers said, a light hint of accusation there. At Sokka's glare, a hasty "Sir," was added. The question might have been rhetorical, everyone silently agreed.

Sokka sighed aggressively. So drawn out it was, it seemed as if he'd deflate like a water tribe festival balloon right then and there.

"Why is she so petty," Sokka whispered harshly under his breath. Of course she'd try to undermine his progress somehow, even with something as small as lightly inconveniencing him.

"J-Just put him in a spare room or something," he finally decided, realizing his earlier complaint was aloud. "And at least two guards at all times." With that, he marched off towards his own room.

The soldiers saluted, tapping their right fist to their left side of their chest. After a pause, Pakku then handed the staff to one of the guards. "Take this to his room, will you?"

* * *

While Zuko was at the reigns, guiding Appa in the last direction they'd seen Aang taken, he could hear a constant shuffling sound behind him, reminding him either of a journal's pages constantly being flipped, or a sheet of paper being endlessly rotated.

"What are you doing back there?" Zuko asked, not really caring for the answer. He just hoped it would distract from whatever noise Azula was making.

Irritatingly enough, the paper shuffling noise persisted before she finally answered. "I'm charting what route that ship would have taken," she said. Papers crumpled again. "Seeing as how they were bold enough to sail straight for a fire nation village, there should be a Water Clan outpost on the shores of the nearest landmass."

"In the middle of the fire nation?" Zuko asked the obvious question. How could they have set up an outpost so close to the Fire Nation Capital?

"Even though its close to the Capital," Azula answered, her voice sounding suddenly clearer. She had scooted closer to the front of the saddle. "It's still close enough to unclaimed ocean water and the very edge of fire nation territory to be considered a neutral zone."

Zuko glanced briefly at his sister, considering. If Water Clan ships could just sail in this region without repercussions, especially in small numbers, that means that the outpost should be out in the open.

"Geopolitics is seriously the only thing stopping our military from just taking over the outpost?" Zuko asked aloud as he kept an eye out for land.

"It's nothing more than a stalemate," Azula agreed. Geopolitics plus the fact that the fire nation military only had enough manpower to secure the homeland with a number of their forces currently in the Earth Kingdom.

"We're already stretched too thin. Something has to give in the Earth Kingdom before we make a major move like that here. Too many things could backfire."

"Yeah," Zuko answered, distracted. "We're looking for a pier then," he said. "We find a dock with a Water Clan ship..."

"We find Aang," Azula finished his thought. She looked down at the map she'd been studying and then the water down below as they sped past it. It looked like a flowing navy blue carpet and she could see Appa's massive shadow skimming over it.

"We might be able to head off their ship before they make it to land," she confidently added, folding the sheet and securing it within the folds of her tunic.

* * *

Underneath the deck of the ship was more homely than Aang was expecting. He was anticipating the spartan metal walls of the few Fire Nation ships he remembered exploring with Kuzon, with their minimal decorations and only a draped banner here and there to denote ownership.

No, here, the walls were lined with shelves, racks, and cloths. Pottery even lined the floor along the walls, reminding Aang more of a well off home then the bowels of a military sea vessel. He admired the view momentarily before reminding himself that he _was _a prisoner here.

One soldier walked ahead of him while another trailed behind him. This particular hallway had no doors along the walls, but there was one at the end of it, conspicuously missing the drapery and decoration that adorned the rest of the hallway.

As they neared it, Aang thought back, remembering the route they took to get to this particular part of the ship. "So, Water Clan, huh?" Aang said loudly, while also adjusting his wrists as best he could. He idly wondered why they weren't called Water Tribes anymore, but let the thought flee his mind as quickly as it arrived. "Bet you guys never fought an airbender before," he challenged, risking a glance behind him. The intersecting hallway was still close enough for him to reach once he made a break for it.

"Talk less," the soldier in front of him retorted, his tone short as they reached the door. He pulled a keyring from a pouch on his belt, aiming the key at the door.

Now!

Aang inhaled a mighty breath, bigger than what he usually did, as if intending to swallow it like it was a meal. Once he exhaled, the soldier in front of him slammed into the door, groaning in pain before crumpling to the ground, unconscious.

While this happened, Aang was flown backwards, and he tucked his chin to his chest as his body rocketed into the soldier behind him. The guard didn't even have time to brace himself, taking the full force of the impact right to the center of his chest. Aang felt like he had been thrown, such was the strength of the air blast, and he finally found himself landing, the hapless guard unintentionally breaking his fall.

He didn't waste time and kicked his legs up, landing back on the ground on his toes before turning on his heels. With help from his use of airbending and removing air resistance, he sped down the hall in the opposite direction like a ravenous eelhound. Turning the corners he remembered traversing through, he kicked open doors with concentrated air as he passed them, hoping to spot his glider.

No, no, no. Each door he kicked open only held stored supplies like foodstuffs and spare armor. He wanted to scream in frustration, but thought better of it, knowing he was already making enough noise as it was. Turning another corner, he kicked open the first door impatiently, peering inside.

There was no glider, but the old man from before -Pakku, was it?- was inside, snoring loudly with a warm cup of tea enclosed in the palms of his hands.

"Sorry..." Aang whispered, backstepping and gently closing the door. He huffed, continuing his run through the hall.

Passing an open door, he halted, backpedaling to the opening, spotting his glider on the wall of the far end of the room. This space looked different from the other rooms, as it lacked any storage supplies, only containing a small desk with a mirror large enough to display the top of his head to his shoulders if he sat on the stool in front of it. The desk had a bowl and some vials, the bowl containing some sort of dark paste while a large Water Clan banner sat suspended above it, an image of three moons displayed horizontally, with the familiar water tribe symbol in the center moon.

Looking past it and to the left, his glider stood leaning unattended against the wall. "There it is!" the airbender exclaimed, feeling as if a weight was removed from his shoulders at the sight of it. He wasted no time in making a break for it and grabbing it with both hands. Before he could appreciate having his staff back though, the sound of a metal thunk behind him alerted him to the room's door closing. He turned around to see Sokka, his hand hovering over a waterskin pouch affixed to his belt.

With the door closed, the room suddenly seemed much smaller. Aang raised his hands outward, palms out in a fighting stance. Sokka stepped sideways, and Aang did the same as they began slowly circling.

With a grunt of concentration, the water Prince threw his hand forward and a whip of water flew out of the pouch, aiming for Aang like an angered serpent. With a wave of his arms, Aang deftly avoided it, allowing the water to pass over his head like a flowing curtain. Stepping sideways, Aang evaded the water's return trip, gripping his staff and swinging it sideways.

A large current of air slammed into Sokka, knocking the air out of his chest. He was able to regain his bearings quickly enough, but he knew fighting in a confined space was a bad idea. They were surrounded by ocean after all. Why not utilize it?

So Aang was unprepared when Sokka immediately ran out the door. He hesitated only a second before relaxing his arms and running out as well. He didn't want to go the same direction Sokka went, but it seemed as though it was the only way out from below deck. He glanced at the direction opposite Sokka went, only seeing the hallway he'd escaped the two guards.

Without wasting another second, he followed the route Sokka went, not able to help the feeling that this was a trap of some sort. The guards he'd incapacitated were no doubt coming this way and he was not about to let them catch him again!

Getting back above deck was easy enough, he thought. But it seemed much too easy as he expanded his glider, the cloth wings jumping out like the wings of a bird ready for flight. As his feet rose from the surface, a foreign weight tugged on his left foot. Looking down, he cursed his inattentiveness.

Sokka was hanging onto his foot by a literal rope of water like a lifeline.

"Hey, let go!" Aang demanded, attempting to shake him off. The act nearly made him lose what balance he had left in the air, so he gave up trying that. Sokka held tight though, attempting to climb up his own water rope. Aang thought the sight was a bit impressive, he had to admit, but still, he needed to get out of there!

Sokka's weight and the imbalance both pulled Aang from his already shaky flight and they both crashed to the ground.

Groaning, Sokka quickly pulled himself to his feet. Behind him, soldiers began pouring out of the door to below deck, their navy blue armor glinting in the sun, followed closely behind by a grumpy Pakku.

Struggling to his feet, Aang saw Sokka and his men falling onto formation. Almost made it out, too, he thought. He held his side gingerly. It felt like he might have bruised something.

"What the-" Sokka startled, looking up at the sky. Aang couldn't see what they were looking at, but then a massive shadow stretched over him and the familiar and welcome sound of a roar sounded overhead.

"Appa!"

Zuko had the reigns and Aang could see the distinctive red trimmed shoes he wore peeking out from above Appa's large head. Azula stood at the saddle, and she thrust her arms forward. A fireball about as half the size of Appa careened toward the men facing Aang, exploding in a shower of smoke and sparks.

"Azula! Zuko!" Aang shouted, running toward the landing Bison, ignoring the mild pain in his side for now. All he could think about was that they had came back!

Zuko nodded his head in urgency. "Hop on! We need to get out of here!"

Aang didn't need to be told twice, quickly airbending himself onto the saddle. With a beat of his great tail, Appa launched from the deck, ascending rapidly towards the sky above the ship.

Back down on the ship however, Sokka wasn't going to leave it at that. He'd come this far. He wasn't about to let the Avatar escape him now! He had him right there, and somehow, he was still able to slip through his fingers. No, he was so close. His goal would be realized if he could take him down right now. So he turned to his soldiers. "Men!" he shouted, pointing at the retreating Bison with its occupants.

The soldiers understood. Pakku neared Sokka's side, and they all made one smooth movement in unison, pulling on the ocean. A wave nearly the size of the ship lurched from the body of water, rocketing towards the gang.

Azula gasped, having spotted it first. Zuko was still at the reigns and Aang was the only other who would be able to properly respond besides herself.

She never faced a wave of that size. Her only real experience of live combat against waterbenders didn't extend past today. But that wasn't going to stop her. She was trained by the most powerful firebender in the world after all.

So with this last thought, ran with it, putting all of her frustration and anger to one specific purpose.

Stop the wave.

With a punch, fire combusted past her closed fist, extending from her hand like the breath of a dragon. Her arm strained as she held out, flames continuing to spew. It was still dwarfed by the wall of water approaching, but the intense heat of her fire managed to at least pierce through it in the center, creating a hole. Her fire flickered from orange to blue, but only for a moment. Zuko and even looked on with wide eyes. The flash of it broke her concentration and the water continued on, unopposed.

Grunting, Aang jumped from the saddle, pressing his fists together, a ball of air expanding from his core. He had jumped into the hole in the water Azula created, allowing him to break apart a majority of the wave into an uncontrolled and harmless rain.

Although the wave was stopped, Aa g had jumped too far from the saddle to properly airbend himself back onto the saddle, instead managing to dismount on the deck of the ship without injury. Distractedly, he looked back towards the sky to see Appa circling back around. If he could hold out for just a few more seconds, they would be out of here. He turned back to his opponents only to he blindsided by something crashing onto his side.

With a cry of surprise, Azula attempted to rain fire down onto the waterbenders, especially with that blue fire she couldn't seem to conjure like earlier. Aang was knocked bodily into the ocean, and he didn't seem like he was conscious when he hit.

"Zuko, get us near the ship!" she ordered, pointing where Aang disappeared. They got this close, she wasn't leaving him to just drown from some water peasants!

Thankfully, Zuko didn't argue, pulling on the reigns to guide Appa towards the water, but quickly hesitated.

Azula saw it too. As a matter of fact, so did Sokka and his men. A tornado of water burst from the ocean where Aang had fell, the Avatar seemingly atop it as if piloting an angry spirit. His eyes burned brightly, obscuring his pupils, and his tattoos glowed. He looked like someone else entirely while still appearing the same.

The tornado of water crashed onto the deck, immediately shoving some unprepared soldiers off the opposite side of the ship. Sokka and the remaining soldiers attempted to counter, but Aang suddenly thrust his arms forward, and his chi exploded in the form of columns of flames erupting from his open palms and his mouth, creating a writhing trident of fire.

Azula and Zuko watched, awed at the sight of it. No one except their Father and Uncle could bend even close to that level of skill. If there was any doubt of his Avatar status it definitely didn't exist now. Azula shook herself out of her stupor much more quickly than Zuko, directing him to land a distance behind Aang back on the ship.

Once the fire dissipated, at least from Aang, what was left was scorched me and fire still trying to persist even on the metallic surfaces. The observation tower which stood towering above the deck, in the center of the ship, somehow had its windows shattered. And if the orange hues dancing within from where they could see was any indication...it was probably on fire in there too.

Sokka was again on the floor, him and his men no problem at the moment. Flames danced between them and Aang now, and now was the perfect opportunity to extract him. Zuko had landed Appa, and Azula slid down Appa's fur, running to Aang's side. He was in the process of falling on his face, his knees failing to keep him upright.

"Easy, Avatar, I've got you," Azula assured, catching him under the arms and keeping him on his feet.

Aang only moaned in mild pain, still clutching his side. They would have to get that looked at, Azula decided.

Once Aang was pulled back onto the saddle, with help from Zuko, they settled him into a comfortable position at the rear. Appa took off, and Azula, as an afterthought, glanced back down at the shrinking ship. Sokka stood at the front of the ship and he stared back, scowling.

Azula tore her eyes away from the ship retreating ship in the distance and shuffled over to Aang. "How are you feeling?"

"My side. I think I bruised something," Aang answered best he could. It hurt even to talk and Azula seemed to sense this, and she said no more. She settled back next to Aang, sighing.

"Hey Azula...?"

Azula turned her head to face Aang.

"Thank you...for coming back."

"It's what friends do...right?" Azula asked, and to Aang, it surprisingly sounded like a genuine question. In spite of this, Aang smiled. "I'd hope so," he replied, half teasingly, eliciting an amused snort from the Princess.


	8. Ch 3: The Western Air Temple, Part 1

_A/N: I know it's an extremely late update; I had just moved on to a new job. My schedule should be a lot more flexible now, so hopefully I can update a little more frequently._

_To the comment about Zuko, don't worry he's not going to be a carbon copy of Sokka. This version of Zuko is basically Season 3 Zuko after he already joined Team Avatar_ personality-wise, so he's not _quite _as angsty as Canon Zuko.

* * *

After the ordeal on the Water Clan ship, it felt good to be off the Water Prince's trail. Azula was more so relieved because Zuko could now stop acting at least a bit so overprotective and give her more "breathing room" so to speak. She glanced over at her brother, who was still focused on the swath of sky ahead of them. Occasionally, he would turn his head toward a passing cloud, admiring the view that their ride afforded them.

She wished he wasn't always like that though, the overprotectiveness. She thought back to when they first found Aang in the volcanic rock. It was just grating that Zuko had to treat her like some damsel in distress every time she even appeared to be in danger. It wasn't like she reminded him what exactly she thought of his overbearing behavior. And she was quite sure she was a slightly better Firebender...

Ever since their mother dissapeared... she couldn't finish the thought and Azula glared over at the empty sky, suddenly feeling...angry? Sad? She didn't know. She pulled her knees closer to her chest, resting her head on them. She shook her head while idly scratching where the widow's peak of her hair met her forehead.

The sun was high in the sky, and she felt rested and healthy, so there was no point in dwelling on the past. Their father would tell her to never show weakness. Enemies would take advantage of it.

She turned from her position on the saddle, glancing at Aang peripherally. He seemed to have recovered with no issues from his side injury and was flicking his finger, creating mini tornados the size of half his hand. He still looked a bit downcast, though, not having spoken since they departed the ship. He was still laying nearly flat on his back. He was struggling to hold his own attention with his idle bending.

Good that he recovered, she thought. Unnecessary pit stops would shorten the gap they had on the ponytailed warrior, assuming he was still following them.

Leaning back into the saddle, she folded her hands behind her head.

"So, are you really sure about stopping at the Western Air Temple first?" Azula asked, still looking forward. She could tell that Aang had stopped playing with the air at the sudden cease of the _thwip _sound and he hummed.

"Yeah," Aang confirmed, sitting up from where he sat. He had his hands resting in his lap. "It's the closest stop before getting to where the map says those fire warriors are." He pulled a map out of the folds of his tunic. Zuko managed to procure several copies, one of them from the village they'd left. The copy given by Iroh was the most detailed and annotated though. Aang unfolded the map, studying it.

Azula was staring openly at Aang at this point and Aang felt compelled to glance over at her.

"W-what?" Aang asked, a bit startled. "Everything okay?"

"There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it," Azula said, closing her eyes before opening them to regard Aang. "There's a large chance that you're not going to like what you see."

Aang broke eye contact with her, staring at his map.

"History hasn't been kind to the Air Nomads; they were one of the first to be attacked." Azula glanced down at the saddle, watching Aang from the corner of her eyes for a reaction. She noticed Zuko glancing back in concern and Aang only sighed.

"I know, I-I get it," Aang's voice catching for just a moment. He looked miserable and Azula was beginning to wish she hadn't said anything, but she didn't want him having false hope only to be dissapointed.

"But there was someone I'm supposed to see after I was ready. Maybe there's still a way to talk to them."

Zuko did look back after hearing this. "After 100 years?" he blurted.

"Well, it was actually supposed to be that I meet them at the Southern Air Temple," Aang added, scratching his head.

Nothing was needed to be said. The Southern Air Temple was too close to the South Pole. They'd never get past the Southern Water Tribe presence in the water. Getting to the Air Temple would require travelling over the ocean, and at this point, it was a fool's errand.

"Who would you even be looking for?" Zuko questioned, returning his view to the front. The clouds continued to float past them from either side of the group.

"I don't know, but I have to see if there's a way," Aang answered. "Just in case." He refolded his map.

Aang breathed in then out, resting a hand on the healing bruise on his chest. While the worst of the pain was gone, it still tended to ache if he strained his torso with any sudden movements.

Azula sighed, settling back into her spot on the saddle.

"That was some impressive firebending," Azula spoke up, and Aang could tell her question was leading, as if she wanted to say more. He turned to face her with a small sigh, already able to guess. She took it as her cue to resume.

"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?"

Aang looked away, sitting up in his spot. "Because," he answered, weighing his reply. A gloomy expression washed over his face and Azula almost regretted asking. "I never wanted to be."

"But you have the potential as the most powerful bender alive," the princess replied, unable to hide the excitement in her voice. "Really, I wouldn't be surprised if you could turn the tide of the war single-handedly-"

Azula noticed Zuko from the corner of her eye. He was subtly shaking his head in disapproval, brows lowered pointedly.

Azula coughed, smoothing out her already done hair.

"I mean, that's why we're here to help. No time like the present," she shrugged.

Aang regarded her with an unsaid question before glancing over to Zuko, who was already facing the skyline ahead.

"Right..." Aang answered, unsure how to respond to Azula's tangent. His expression lightened considerably though as he observed where they were in the sky.

"There it is!" Aang cried, finger pointing just past Zuko's head. Appa also seemed to groan in agreement.

"Huh..." Zuko whistled. "That's interesting."

Azula raised a brow, wondering if they were in on some inside joke. They had neared a massive cliffside, yes, but there were no structures of any kind to denote any settlement. It was just a large, cavernous cliff face. There were large swaths of grass that covered the ground and the mountain was simply massive.

"I don't see anything..." she said plainly, observing the landscape intently. "There's nothing there."

"That's because we're not going on _top_ of the mountain," Aang said, suddenly standing and unfurling his glider. Azula suppressed the reflex to jump at the sudden motion. Aang steadied himself for only a moment before jumping off and descending down toward the rocky outcroppings.

Sliding over to the edge of the saddle where he'd leapt, Azula watched his descent.

"Oh," Azula said to herself.

It was quite obvious when she thought about it now. Airbenders were nomadic by nature, so they'd also be reclusive, if the other temples were anything to go by.

A flat plain would be too open and unsecure, so instead of building on top of that, the temple was instead built _into _it. There were dozens of plateaus and caverns, securely hidden by the overhanging stalagmites. She could see a tiled floor now, it's centerpiece a large fountain that even now still spewed out water in a graceful pattern as if someone were still maintaining it. To the left and right of the fountain were arched doorways, the lack of light refusing her visual entry from where they still hovered in the air.

Appa angled downwards, following after his airbending partner. With a muted thump, the Sky Bison landed right next to the fountain, immediately sticking his muzzle into the water.

"I hope that isn't the only water source," Zuko spoke up, following after Azula as they slid down Appa's furry flank.

Azula didn't answer as she slowly looked around, admiring her surroundings. The two hallways were a little more visible now and she could make out a long hallway in either one. A ledge overlooked this courtyard from a distance and Aang stood at the entrance to the rightmost hallway, his back turned to the siblings.

"What's wrong?" Azula asked as she came to a stop next to him, observing the hallway. The significance of the building was lost on her. She couldn't guess what was going on in his head.

The hallway was unchallenged in vertical craftsmanship, with towering arches that she couldn't hope to reach even if she had convinced Zuko to let her stand on his shoulders. The stone walls were of the same texture as the flooring; smooth to the touch and simplistically graceful. It was impressive, if not quaint.

Aang sighed, distributing some of his weight to his staff. "There's no one here." He ran a hand through his shaved head. Azula wisely chose not to comment.

"This place should be full of airbenders," he continued. He pointed to the courtyard behind her. Azula assumed Zuko had been following behind her, but he was instead keeping Appa company, his arms crossed. He seemed to be studying the cliffs opposite the ravine.

"This is a commons area; all of the temples have them," Aang explained, walking past Azula and back into the courtyard.

There was a long pause with Aang not saying anymore, and Azula placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't we see if we can find this person you were talking about?" Azula suggested, gently guiding him to face the hallway entrance.

Aang looked at her and smiled, although it was a bit forced. She's faked them enough to know when she saw one. "You're right," he answered, looking again at the arched hallways. To the Airbender, it was strange to see the place so empty. It really was a relic. He exhaled and began walking forward. Azula called out to her brother, and a moment later, he was following behind them.

To Azula's mild surprise, Zuko broke the silence as they headed down the hall.

"So, have you been to all the Air Temples?"

Aang's grin threatened to split his face in response, and Azula mentally gave Zuko a pat on the back.

"Well, this is the only Temple I hadn't seen all the rooms," the youngest of the three said, turning to walk backwards. "All I know is this is the Temple where all the girls were," he added. Azula suppressed an amused smile at his face.

They finally reached the end of the hall, which was occupied by a massive door. It was plain looking but looked almost as strong as any Fire Nation bunker door, with this being made of stone rather than iron.

"Don't suppose you have any trick to get through here?" Zuko asked, carefully observing the door. It looked to be at least several inches thick, and they didn't have an Earthbender in their little group. Unless...

"You don't know how to Earthbend yet, do you?"

Aang shrugged apologetically. "I only know airbending right now," he said, but he held out an appeasing hand. "But that won't be necessary! See those horns on the door?"

Zuko and Azula followed where his finger was pointing to whar they assumed was just decoration.

"Watch this!" Aang slid a foot backwards and lightly bent his front knee forward. He steadily and deeply inhaled while hovering his hands palm up near his stomach. Azula thought it almost looked like he was about to breath fire.

Instead, he blew outward as if blowing out a candle and thrust both palms outwards toward the door decoration. Three columns of wind funneled from his mouth and hands and into the horns, each one releasing a musical note that seemed to lower in bass with each sequence.

The horns rotated in a pattern, like a symbolic tornado. A large creak was heard and slowly, the doors opened, looking like giant slabs of stone that were set free, accompanied by loud echoing from the massive stone.

Aang was the first to step through. Zuko and Aang followed closely behind, and the both of them couldn't help but be awed by the sight.

There were statues everywhere. They dominated the room and were arranged in a large spiral. They not only occupied the floor they stood on, but there were multiple levels ascending seemingly endlessly toward the ceiling, every space occupied shoulder to shoulder by a figure, each one clothed vastly different from the figure standing next to them. It was an awning sight, each statue seemingly judging them for some crime they might even have been unaware of having committed.

"What is this place?" Zuko asked. Just the sheer amount of figures within the room was mind boggling.

"It's the Avatar Cycle..." the Airbender replied, looking just as amazed as the other two.


	9. The Western Air Temple, Part 2

Both awesome and terrifying, the Avatar's power. With what looked like mild gestures of his arms, the Water Clan ship was damaged almost beyond repair.

Sokka shuddered at the memory of those ethereal, glowing eyes. No kid should ever have an expression like that, he thought...even if said child turned out to be a weapon of mass destruction in human form. Sokka rubbed his own face. Exhaustion threatened to overtake him and so he banished the thought from his mind.

Right now, he needed to focus. His ship needed repairs. He could brood later; that really wasn't his thing anyway. Complaining, sure, but brooding was complaining with extra steps, and he didn't have the energy for it.

Sokka examined the area as he walked down the ramp. They were anchored at a Water Clan pier along a harbor, this site much farther from Fire Nation territory, thankfully, and closer to his own people's jurisdiction. The sun was still up, although it was preparing to make its daily descent, and collections of clouds floated overhead, helping to cast shadows along the surface which seemed to trail after the slowly descending star. This cast the surrounding structures in hues of oranges and yellows, vaguely reminding him of the two fire nation teens he lost track of.

To Sokka's left was his aforementioned ship. It seemed to look even more worse for wear now that it wasn't in motion. The observation deck was destroyed, covered in scorch marks. The metal near that section was blackened and bits of glass was littered all along the deck of the ship. Sokka sighed at seeing such a magnificent vessel being utterly trashed. At least the silverish sheen on the ship's hull seemed to be untouched.

To his right, there were stalls and vendors, all selling wares of some sort. Most of the merchandise was food and supplies, as this particular location was a military installation more than anything else. Most of the passerby consisted of Water Clan soldiers from different regiments, and ships came and went as hours would go by.

"Alright, so we're getting what we need for repairs, plenty of food," Sokka counted off these points on his fingers. "And then we go straight back to chasing _him_."

Pakku, who was following behind him, raised a brow. "You mean the Avatar?" he replied in obvious disinterest. He was quickly elbowed in the arm by the Prince who shushed him with exaggerated gestures for quiet.

"Ix-nay on the Vatar-ay..!" Sokka whispered harshly. "The last thing we need is this info spreading around."

"What info?"

Sokka nearly felt his soul leave his body and he jumped back in surprise, arms flailing. He sighed in relief, though, once he recognized the voice.

The man who had approached them was a soldier about the age of Sokka's father. He stood out amongst the soldiers by the fact that he wore a lot less armor than the typical Water Clan soldier. A tribal necklace hung from his neck, adorned with Tiger-Seal teeth and claws. While the particular piece of jewelry implied a great warrior, the man also held himself in a way where he seemed the amicable type. He was no more armored than a standard issue Water Clan tunic.

"Bato!" Sokka wrapped the man in an unexpected hug, causing him to laugh.

"Look at you, Sokka! You've grown!" Bato greeted once the younger man stepped back and he clapped a hand on his shoulder, shaking it good naturedly. He nodded reverently to Pakku.

"And General Pakku," Bato greeted, bowing his head slightly in a gesture of respect. "It is an honor."

"_Former _General," Pakku corrected, not unkind. "I haven't been called that in many moons," the eldest commented wistfully.

And indeed, it was a long time ago. If it was up to him, he'd rather forget the circumstances behind his abandoning of the title.

Bato nodded, understanding. "Well, The Prince and the Tiger-Wolf of the North are always welcome," he replied sincerely. "What brings you to my harbor?"

Sokka glanced briefly back at the ship. Bato was an old friend; he was like an Uncle to him. If there was anyone he could trust outside of Pakku, it was him.

"We're here to get our ship repaired," Sokka ventured. "We...ran into some trouble on the way here."

Bato glanced at Sokka's ship from where he stood. The observation tower was utterly wrecked; the explosion had made it look like a storm singled out that specific portion of the vessel and everything else was collateral damage.

"That's quite a bit of damage," Bato understatedly observed, rubbing his chin in thought. Surely, it couldn't be the work of Fire Nation insurgents? He doubted they had the manpower to spare for raids on Water Clan military vessels. The Fire Nation definitely matched them in naval capability, but they wouldn't have the numbers needed to keep up a large presence both in the Earth Kingdom and uncharted waters at the same time.

"What I'm about to tell you..." Sokka ventured, waving Bato closer. Curiosity peaked, the seasoned warrior complied. "Can't leak out."

"Sokka..." Pakku warned.

Sokka waved off his grandfather's doubts. "It's okay, we can trust him," he assured him, before facing Bato again.

Sokka glanced around briefly. "We found the Avatar."

Bato looked at Sokka, unbelievingly, before backing up a step, back straight. "You are sure?"

"Yeah, he showed an amazing display of firebending..." Sokka paused as he examined his wrecked ship. "Can you do me a favor? Keep this a secret from _you know who._"

Bato knew very well who he was referring to. He could only guess at the consequences of _that_ one finding out. Unconsciously, Bato swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.

"I didn't hear a thing," Bato assured with a smile. "After all, he's been dead for a 100 years...wouldn't seem out of place for him to not show up until _after _you've captured him."

Sokka returned the smile, thanking him with a sincere handshake. Bato's smile then dropped almost as immediately as it formed. "So he really has returned, huh?" he asked, folding his arms. He remembered the reasoning behind why Sokka left. Honestly, he thought it to be a fool's errand. But now that the Avatar returning seems possible now...Well, maybe Sokka's mission really could be completed. And he would support him in any way he could, it was the least he could do.

Sokka nodded, confirming his question. "He's Air Nomad," he explained as Bato waved him and Pakku to follow him to his current base of operations. It was a short walk, and Sokka was privately relieved to not have to keep looking at the wrecked ship. "He also wore what looked like Airbender tattoos," he continued. "Orange and yellow monk robes; he's kinda hard to miss."

The three weaved through the thin crowd of soldiers as they went about their business.

"How has the capital been since we've left, anyway?" Pakku decided to ask after having been silent for a while.

Bato sighed as he entered a large tent. It was lined with furs on the exterior, framed with what looked like metal lining that acted as a skeleton for the structure. Nothing but the strongest of hurricane level winds could knock them down.

He bid them to enter.

"The capital's been fine, for the most part," he said as the other two entered. Two guards inside the tent prepared two stools for the guests and Sokka and Pakku sat down. "But, you have been away for about three years. Without you advising most of the fleet's forces in council meetings, many of the missions have become, how should I say this..." Bato rubbed his forehead. He folded his arms. "A lot of policy changes have taken place since you've been gone."

Pakku raised an eyebrow, and Bato took it as cue to continue. Sokka and Pakku gave their undivided attention. The two guards from earlier returned, setting down bowls of Seal Jerky and rice, along with some cups of water. Sokka immediately began to dig in (He was still paying attention to the conversation of course.) Pakku was more reserved as he nursed his water.

"Once you had departed the Capital with Prince Sokka three years ago, there was less opposition to some of the fleet commanders more _aggressive _expansionist policies." He sighed. "I did what I could to try to oppose it, but I was outvoted."

Sokka stared at his half empty bowl, suddenly having lost his appetite.

"If my father thinks that the rest of the world will just bend knee and give up, he's more lost than I thought."

Pakku would usually be the one to criticize his tactlessness, but Bato spoke this time.

"Well, you're time away from home has made you quite the optimist."

Sokka snorted at the joke but immediately sobered as Bato continued.

"Sokka, since you've left, the Chief hasn't really done anything to balance out these fleet commanders' wish to advance on more land." Bato sighed, and a small part of him thought he'd been doing a little too much of that lately. "I fear that we're moving away from expanding and more into outright destroying enemy land."

"What are you talking about?" Sokka asked, slowly setting his bowl down. His travels had taken him closer to Fire Nation territory in his quest to find the Avatar, so he was a bit uninformed in recent happenings in his homeland, specifically, the last two years.

Bato stared past his own bowl of food, which remained untouched even now. "Some of the Earth Kingdom villages look like ruins. Homes destroyed and abandoned."

"More and more settlements are getting completely drained of their water sources, the closer they are to the Fire Nation."

* * *

"This one's another Airbender," Azula pointed to a statue of a bald man with what looked like Airbender Mastery tattoos. He looked like what Azula imagined Aang could possibly look like as a grown man. She placed over to the next statue to the right. This one wore what looked like Water Clan clothing, but more antiquated. Rather than the crisp measurements of Water Clan uniforms, it had a more handspun and rougher look to it.

"A Water Tribesman," she said aloud. Besides the beard and overall quite intimidating presence, he almost had a passing resemblance to the Sokka character they managed to evade recently.

"And Fire," Zuko spoke up, looking at the next and last statue in the lineup.

"That's Roku," Aang said, looking into the eyes of the Fire National's statue as if in a daze. He looked so familiar, as if he'd seen him before, but it seemed to be more than that, he-

"Aang?"

Aang blinked, rubbing his eyes, feeling like he'd been pulled out of some alternate dimension or something.

"You spaced out briefly," Azula said as way of explanation. She turned to face him. "How did you know who that was? There's no name anywhere," she said. She slowly paced around the statue, but there was nothing denoting so much as a letter anywhere.

Aang shrugged. "'Dunno. I just do."

"Guess we'll have to get used to these random insights of yours," Zuko said, without humor, and he folded his arms.

Aang shrugged again, not knowing any more than Zuko.

"So i'm guessing the person you eere to meet was a statue," Zuko added bluntly. "Doesn't even look like anyone lived in here."

Aang hummed, tapping his chin. "Maybe I need to meditate in front of it or something?" He looked questioningly at Zuko. He shrugged.

Azula sighed melodramatically, even placing a hand, palm out. "Well, it's not like we have anything better to do," she stated. "Inform me when you're done meditating," she requested. She began to explore the rest of the room, complaining about the lack of seats anywhere and the dust she seemed to find everywhere.

Aang smiled, amused, and sat down, lotus style, facing the statue. Zuko stepped back, affording him some space, and looked like a sentry standing guard.

Aang remembered his lessons from his mentor, Monk Gyatso. He closed his hands into loose fists, pressing them against each other, and cleared his mind. He breathed in deeply through his nose, and then out through his mouth.

...

It was 3 minutes later and Aang blew a raspberry.

"I got nothing," he stated, shoulders slumping. Zuko regarded the statue before looking back at Aang.

"On to the next stop, then?"

Aang nodded enthusiastically. "Kyoshi Island."

Well, maybe he wasn't ready yet, Aang thought to himself. That was the requirement Gyatso told him. And he still only knew Airbending. Maybe when he visited an Air Temple again in the future, he would be able to meet whatever person was waiting for him. He also wondered if he really did need to go to the Southern Air Temple like Gyatso said.

Well, maybe he'd find a friendly waterbender at Kyoshi Island...It was a bit of a stretch, but what better way to find out than to just go?

Then they heard footsteps. From _outside _the sanctuary.

Aang and Zuko immediately spotted Azula a short distance from them and she was actually deeper inside of the room. She gave a meaningful look. She heard it too. Immediately, all three of them dropped to a low crouch, finding shelter behind the numerous statues. Aang and Zuko his behind the statue of Roku, while Azula took shelter behind a statue of an impressively tall Earthbender woman with a fearsome visage.

A shadow crept up towards the large stone door opening. The shuffling got slightly louder, but it started to sound less like footsteps.

"Might be a waterbender," Azula whispered. Zuko nodded, while Aang attempted to get a clearer look by squinting.

Once the shadow grew large enough in size to signify that the stranger was near, Azula spun from behind the statue, sliding into a stance. She scoffed before immediately dropping it.

Aang had leaped over Roku's statue at the same time that Zuko and Azula revealed themselves.

"Lemur!" Aang cried, a grin threatening to split his face. The animal in question Chittered something unintelligible in the tone of a question, and tilted its head.

"Careful, Avatar, that thing could be rabid," Azula cautioned.

"No worries, it's a flying lemur," Aang replied, offering an arm to the animal. "They're really friendly."

The lemur slowly approached and once it reached Aang's hand, it sniffed it before running up his arm and circled his neck once and then rested on his shoulder. "See?" Aang shrugged with his free arm after he stood up.

"I hope you don't make a habit of picking up wild animals," Azula's lip curled as she warily observed the lemur on Aang's shoulder. It chose that moment to lick its paw. It paused as if sensing Azula was looking at him and turned its head to regard her. Azula's eyes slanted in mild annoyance.

"I haven't thought of a name for him yet," Aang scratched the fur on the lemur's neck, to its approval. "Guess we better get out of here." He looked at his new pet on his shoulder. "I'm gonna introduce you to Appa!" Aang dashed towards the exit. Azula and Zuko glanced at each other before following him out.

Once out of the sanctuary, the team made their way back towards Appa, and halfway through the trip, their Lemur friend decided to fly off, not that that disappointed Azula any. Aang was sad to see him fly off, but he hoped he would come back before they took off on Appa.

"That reminds me," Aang said, hovering a hand in front of his brow to block some of the sunlight. It had begun to reach it's zenith, so it was especially bright. "Before we go, I want to visit the meditation room, to pay my respects before we leave."

Azula saw how he looked a lot more solemn than he did only minutes ago.

This was important to him.

"Of course," Azula replied and nodded his assent, and Aang smiled gratefully at them.

"Zuko, why don't you keep Appa company, we'll be back shortly." Zuko rolled his eyes but nevertheless complied.

"Its still a chance, possibly, that we're still being followed, so don't take too long," Zuko shot back evenly. Aang assured that he'd be there and back before heading with Azula to the meditation room.

"Hey, I'm glad you wanted to come see the meditation room with me," Aang said, scratching the back of his neck. The both of them were steadily making their way up a winding path of stairs. The stairs were constructed well, made of some sort of polished stone, that even now seemed to repel dust.

"Don't get any funny ideas," Azula warned, eyes flashing. "I'm just curious to know what it looks like."

Aang's face colored. "Uh, I wasn't thinking funny thoughts! I-"

While Azula thought his floundering was cute and hilarious, she decided to cut him some slack.

"It was a joke," she clarified, the grin not leaving her face.

Aang calmed down enough to laugh, even though his face was still a bit red. "It's kind of hard to tell when you're serious or not."

"I guess you could say it's a talent of mine."

Aang chose not to comment on that. They finally reached the top of the steps to find a large chamber, similar in size to the sanctuary they had vacated not too long ago. Here though, the doors were already open, not having required any sort of airbending to enter. Moss, vines, trees, and roots seemed to spread here without supervision from groundkeepers, but something was wrong with the sight of them.

Azula noticed Aang staring at them as well.

"These plants are dead," Azula said, observing the withered flora. The spread of roots, having overtaken parts of the interior of the sanctuary showed that it hadn't been maintained in decades at the very _least_. But then, these roots were also cracked, dry and without any kind of moisture.

Waterbenders. Azula bowed her head. So they _had _been here, and this was the proof. She belatedly noticed Aang had stepped further into the chamber, past a wall of shredded curtains. It was covered in a film of cobwebs, having been the home of arachnids throughout the years that may have called it home and then abandoned it over the course of numerous times.

She heard a crash, as if someone bumped into furniture and toppled something over. That didn't sound good, Azula thought, and so she dashed past the curtains.

Oh.

There were skeletons everywhere. All of them were wearing ancient uniforms from a century ago. Many of them were Water Tribe uniforms. The way the bodies were scattered around made it seem as if a hurricane or tornado blew through the room and brought destruction all over.

Everything looked crushed. The walls were half destroyed. Something had enough force to put miniature craters into their surfaces. Some blue-garbed skeletons were slumped on the ground under some of them. It looked like this all along the walls and perimeter of the room...but the center seemed to be where the eye of the storm was.

One skeleton that didn't have the colors of the Water Tribe invaders, but the oranges and cream colors of an Air Nomad. Hair was still attached to this skeleton, flowing from the crown of it's head to splay out in different directions along it's back. The space where the hair was shaved must have been where the tattoo for airbending mastery would have been visible.

This dead Airbender looked like she might have been a female, if the way the long robes looked signified anything. Her arms were spread outward to both sides, while the stone around her was cracked and broken. It had absorbed a lot of water at some point and now looked warped.

She had went down fighting.

"You were right," Aang whispered, and Azula whipped her head in his direction. She hadn't noticed that she stopped to stand next to him. He was on his knees, the remains of some vase scattered to his left, along with an overturned table.

"I didn't wanna believe it," he continued, his arms shaking. He was still looking down at the ground, but from this angle, Azula couldn't see his face.

She really wished she wasn't right, she thought miserably. She kneeled down next to him, thinking that now was not the time to be worrying about dust and getting her pants dirty. Under the current circumstances, she thought her complaints would be wildly inappropriate, so she continued to kneel there. She hesitated, hovering a hand over Aang's shoulder, not sure how to proceed.

She was never good at cheering people up, and she realized she was a little out of her depth here. Maybe she shouldn't have told Zuko to wait with Appa. She was loathe to admit it, but he was a better conversationalist on some things.

"I-" Any words she could think of died longer lips when the wind, which was non existent up to this point, began to pick up. The Air Nomad Skeleton's hair began to whip around from the turbulence and the back of her mind temporarily produced the illogical thought of it controlling the winds.

She regretted not having said anything when Aang's Tattoos began to glow and the wind picked up even more speed. It threatened to fling her right out of the room.

* * *

Aang's grief didn't go unnoticed, and not just by Azula. Around the the globe, people were being reminded that the Avatar still lives.

In the Earth Kingdom, a man in earthy green robes fell backwards in shock. He almost forgot how to breathe when the tapestry he'd been meditating in front of suddenly seemed to come alive. The figure painted on this particular surface was Avatar Kyoshi, the Earthbending Avatar. It's eyes glowed an otherworldly bluish-white.

Not too far from that Temple, a statue of this same Avatar Kyoshi, propped in the center of an island, had those same glowing white eyes. Fearful and excited chatter reverberated from the crowds as people pointed to the spectacle.

On Crescent Island, a massive statue of the previous Avatar, Roku, of the Fire Nation was the centerpiece of a massive room inside of the Temple of the Fire Sages. It was cast completely in gold.

His eyes glowed that same ethereal bluish-white.

The sages, caught completely off guard from this, did not immediately know how to react. So they did the best thing under the circumstances.

They kowtowed, pressing their foreheads to the floor.

In the Northern Pole and the South Pole, in the Spirit Oasis and the Southern Water Temple, respectively, the shamans were struck with a feeling of enlightenment, and also fear. The Koi Fish jn the Spirit Oasis circled each other as they usually did, representing the eternal push and pull, but the water...the water was glowing white.

That had only happened once before, and that was 16 years ago.

The Southern Temple was constructed completely of ice and snow, and was the central landmark of the sprawling Metropolis that was the Capital of the Water Clan. On the uppermost floor, closest to the light of the moon, was a statue of Avatar Kuruk. He was on one knee as he held a tribal spear in both hands. The weapon was planted in the ground and his head was bowed. The eyes began to glow.

The Shamans were afraid, for this only meant one thing.

A Hong was sounded, and a platoon of soldiers who were conducting patrol from ground level outside, looked up toward a Temple window. A shaman was there, cupping his mouth to project his voice.

"Send word to the High Chief!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"The Avatar has returned!"


	10. The Western Air Temple, Part 3

Azula tried her best to stand her ground. Even with her feet planted, she found her feet sliding backwards in the face of the wind, forcing her to lean forward to keep from falling. Ahead of her and to her left, Aang slowly began to hover in the air, his fists balled and to his sides. As she was being pushed further back, the wind became more and more volatile. She stretched am arm out, grabbing hold of the doorway that held the the curtains she and Aang had entered through only minutes earlier. Straining her right arm, she managed to pull herself towards the right, enough that her back was now pressed against the wall within the room. A crunch below her made her look down, and she resisted flinching.

She'd stepped on a skull, and even now, the debris from the remains were being blown backwards, and the ancient armour's cloth billowing restelessly. Her boot had stomped right through the stuff, and the wind was blowing loose sands and skeletal shards past it.

"Azula!"

Zuko's voice seemed to waver in and out of hearing range as if competing with the maelstrom of sounds, but he managed to pull himself into the room across from her to her left on the other side of the opening. The curtain was flapping wildly at this point, blocking their view of each other every few seconds.

"What happened?!" he asked, squinting an eye against the buffeting wind.

"It's his Avatar Spirit," she answered with a raised voice, attempting to speak over the increasingly louder winds. She put a hand in front of her mouth to block the sand from hitting her mouth. "Can you talk to him?!"

Zuko shook his head before voicing his negative, realizing visibility was low. "I can't get closer without getting thrown," he shouted back. As if proving his point, the wind picked up even more, threatening to pull Zuko away even farther. "Do something!"

Azula wanted to scream that she didn't know how, but she was too disciplined for that. Instead, she screamed internally. She wasn't used to talking to people in trances that summoned gale force winds. Azula considered herself a people person, but that was with small talk or getting information out of people.

She breathed in an out, turning towards Zuko. He had ended up sliding backwards some, managing to grab ahold of a dried out tree.

"What do I say?!"

"Anything!"

Azula thought back to her childhood, anything that could be used to snap Aang out of it. Steadily, Azula crouched down, planting her feet on the wall behind her. With as much force she could muster, which was a remarkable amount, she pushed forward as if jumping from the wall.

Fire burst from under her soles for only just a moment. She wasn't experienced enough to fly with firebending, but it was enough. She only needed to cover more distance. The moment she landed back on the ground, she desperately grappled the ground, managing to grip one of the thick vines snaking along the ground.

The wind was slightly weaker now, which meant she was getting closer to Aang, who was the eye of the storm of his own creation.

For a few more moments, she fought against the wind, before getting close enough to touch Aang's hand if she wanted. She pulled herself back up to her feet, looking up at Aang as he continued to hover.

At this point, the scattered skeletons along the edges of the room had been blown in different directions. Oddly enough, the Airbender remains were untouched, only it's stringy hair flapping wildly against the currents. One of the Water Tribe remains ended up flying into the open air past Zuko, who seemed to have lost ground. His legs were midair now and the only thing anchoring him down were his arms wrapped around the trunk of an ancient looking tree.

Azula sighed. She was a Princess of the Fire Nation! She was acting like some scared little girl that didn't know what to do.

That was so unlike her! So she willed the hesitation out of her system and gingerly grabbed Aang's closest hand -his right hand.

She expected Aang to react somehow and turn his eyes to her, but he didn't seem to react at all. In the back of her mind she was relieved.

"Aang! I can't pretend to know what you're going through," she projected her voice to be sure she could be heard over the wind and all of the flapping clothes. Aang didn't seem to acknowledge that she had even spoken. She continued anyway.

"Maybe my pain will never compare to yours, but the Water Clan took something important from me, too."

Zuko, who was holding on to dear life, even found himself hanging onto Azula's words over the wind.

"They took my mother, and maybe there'll always be a hole there," Azula held back her tears. She still had so many confusing feelings about her mother, but now wasn't the time to stew on it.

"Your family is gone, but," Azula swallowed, squeezing Aang's hand. "Maybe we can be your family too."

The wind didn't seem to let up, and Aang still wouldn't look at her.

She failed.

She failed and her and Zuko were probably going to die and-

Azula squeezed her eyes shut, but the wind seemed to finally slow down. The tension in her grip seemed to relax as she realized Aang's body was descending back to the ground.

Relief flooded her system as the air finally stilled and Aang's feet touched the ground. He was still glowing, but it seemed like progress.

On a whim, Azula pulled him into a hug.

The glow finally faded.

"I'm sorry," Aang breathed. His legs failed him, and Azula held tight, slowly lowering him to his knees.

Footsteps behind her revealed Zuko nearing them, and he kneeled on one knee next to Aang, opposite Azula.

"Don't apologize," Azula ordered, releasing the hug, but keeping a steadying hand on Aang's shoulder. No one could really look at the scene in front of them and not understand at least a bit of Aang's grief.

"But you were right," Aang insisted. "You tried to warn me not get my hopes up, and I didn't listen..." His head was bowed and Azula decided not to respond to that.

"I really am the last Airbender..."

Zuko regarded the skeleton that still lie a few feet of them. During that terrifying moment of Aang's Avatar State, it was untouched.

"Hey, it's not your fault," he said simply, squeezing Aang's shoulder. He nodded towards the remains across from them.

"Let's give her a proper burial, and get out of here."

The young boy that sat between the two siblings didn't speak immediately, but he nodded once at Zuko's suggestion.

"Thanks. I think she'd appreciate it."

So, without any more words said, Zuko and Azula helped Aang to carefully lift the remains of the Airbender nun, using cloths that the youngest of the team was able to find within the Temple. They took it to an open field not too far from the structure the remains were found in, and laid her to rest.

Zuko and Azula hung back as Aang waved his hand horizontally. The last of the loose soil was shifted to the side by a current of wind that they dug up to cover the body, hiding it from the rest of the world.

Aang sighed. Even though it wasn't anything close to a ceremony his kinsman deserved, he felt that at least a small weight was lifted from him. He could do this much, at least to honor them.

He looked up at the feeling of a hand resting on either of his shoulders. "C'mon, let's get out of here," Zuko suggested again, nodding in the general direction of Appa.

"Yeah."

* * *

They had all gathered back on Appa's saddle, with Aang atop the Bison's head. With a command of "Yip Yip!" Appa slammed down his tail against the air, and they were again airborne. Lightening Aang's mood was the Flying Lemur, who'd decided to tag along after all, to Aang's delight and Azula's mild annoyance.

It was quiet during the first few minutes of their flight, almost oppressively so. But no one was willing to break the quiet, as for each one of them it seemed as if they would be committing some unseen faux pas.

After what seemed like an eternity, but really may have only been just a few more minutes, Aang glanced back at Azula, watching her for a moment.

"Hey, Azula?"

"Hm?" she had been looking at the retreating Temple as they all lifted off, and spared a glance up at Aang.

"I just wanted to say thanks," he scratched the back of his head, finding himself looking away, now that her eyes were on him. "For everything today. When I kind of...lost myself, you pulled me out of there."

"I..." Azula paused, focusing momentarily on the wind as if gently buffeted her hair. "I'm just glad you're okay," she said, looking back down at the sky below them. It seemed as if she wanted to day something else, but she didn't add anything else. The Temple was long gone by now, replaced by the images of clouds that looked like airborne white carpets. Further down, they could spot the ocean, reflecting the light from the Sun.

"Well, where we're going next should give us time to relax," Aang assured. He pulled the map out out from the folds of his tunic. He hopped over, seemingly gliding over to where they sat -probably from airbending- and sat down into a lotus position.

"Kyoshi Island is surrounded by sandy beaches and lots of trees," Aang explained, pointing down at an island off center from the map's surface. He then traced his finger across towards the left.

"Crescent Island will be pretty much a straight shot from there."

* * *

Sokka nearly dropped his bowl. Remembering himself, he caught the bowl as it had left its grip, thankful that he hadn't just wasted some good food.

"That's crazy...He wouldn't do that," he asserted, his renewed hold on the food tightening. "He's been different lately, but he wouldn't just...dry out villages like that."

Pakku and Bato were silent, and Bato's shoulders slumped. "I wish I could agree with you," he intoned sadly. Shadows seemed to dance over their faces when it hadn't done that before. It was starting to get dark outside the tent.

Sokka set his bowl down. He was no longer hungry.

"This is getting worse," he finally said in a whisper.

Bato watched him sympathetically. "And, recently, _she's_ been showing up to a majority of the war meetings recently."

A shudder ran up Sokka's spine. It seemed like capturing the Avatar was more important and necessary than ever. He breathed out a sigh, observing their surroundings. A map sat situated on a wall behind Bato, colored in reds, blues, and greens. Their was a disproportionate amount of blue on the map, representing Water Clan territories.

"Is the ship's repairs finished."

Bato nodded. "They're somewhat rudimentary fixes, but enough to last for several weeks, at least."

Sokka nodded once, standing up. "That should be good enough for now," he replied, voice even. "Thank you for your help, Bato." Sokka bowed at the waist, and Bato readily returned the gesture.

"Just be safe out there," Bato clapped a hand onto Sokka's shoulder. May the spirits grant you success on your journey."

* * *

The sun began to peak over the horizon again, informing the world's inhabitants of a new day. Team Avatar had unanimously agreed to camp out at a nearby landmass that had sandy beaches just like Kyoshi Island the night prior, to give Appa a chance to get some rest. Once the Sun was up, the made their way over to the aforementioned island, making landfall at the shore.

They'd seen evidence of a village beyond the trees while they were still airborne, so landed on the other side of the flora, to hide Appa just in case.

"Azula! I've got to show you the elephant Koi they have here; they're huge!" he pulled Azula along, excitedly, to the shoreline, where the water pushed and pulled against the sand.

Zuko, who'd been checking that all of their luggage was accounted for, slid down Appa's tail to the ground.

"Shouldn't we get going?" Zuko suggested, but it sounded more like an order.

"Appa's rested, and we should try to get to our first destination as soon as possible."

Appa grunted from behind him, but the prince couldn't tell if he was agreeing with him or not.

"And why would I be interested in some overstuffed fish?" the princess followed up, folding her arms. Aang was undeterred, though, his wide smile still present.

"Trust me, you'll love this," he began to explain to them, jogging along the sand and leaving light footprints in his wake. He stripped down to his under clothes as he continued to talk.

"You can ride them like super fast boats, and use their fins as a kind of sail!"

Azula shook her head, though he wouldn't have noticed. She didn't understand how he found these types of things amusing, rather than trying to find masters for the other elements. She almost wondered if they had a reason to be here, but she hadn't brought it up. Maybe they all needed a day to relax, she guessed, after everything that happened at the Western Air Temple.

A loud splash in the water paused her thoughts and she saw Aang wasn't exaggerating. The fish were absolutely massive, as big as your average Fire Nation speeder boat, if not a little bit larger than even that. Noticing that she was watching, he had a big goofy grin on his face and waving wildly. Two other Elephant Koi were swimming on either side of Aang's as if in some synchronized formation.

Well, it was a little impressive she had to admit.

Zuko sighed from where he stood next to her.

"He's crazy," he shook his head, gesturing mildly toward the Airbender kid in the distance. "We're in the middle of a war and he wants to ride giant fish on some secluded island."

Azula glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Perhaps, you need to lighten up, Zuzu," she retorted. Zuko grunted in annoyance at the mention of her pet name for him. "We're moving a lot faster than if we were using one of Uncle's warships. Besides, it would probably do him some good to act like a silly kid once in a while."

Zuko didn't respond, but she could tell he was thinking about what she said. She decided to press on. "Maybe you need to relax too. You're already uptight as it is."

"What. Ever," Zuko ground out with finality. Azula smirked. He always got so easily mad about everything, but she decided he'd had enough teasing and didn't push it.

She watched Aang for a few moments before she heard Momo, Aang's lemur, rifling through their luggage, specifically her bag in particular which was secured to the side of the saddle.

"Hey! Those are my things, you little vermin!" She shouted, dashing back over to Appa's saddle. Momo seemed to chitter something in response but didn't move away from her belongings. She ignored that Zuko began to snicker from behind her.

* * *

Aang was hoping to further impress Azula, but she suddenly turned around, heading back to where Appa rested. Was she already bored of looking at him?

"Aw, man..." he sighed.

At least he still had an audience with Zuko still watching, even though he'd rather it have been the Fire Princess.

Well, he thought, he'd do a few more laps then they could go into the village. Maybe he'd have to impress her some other way. Azula was pretty honest about not caring about Elephant Koi. So he rode the waves on the back of the fish for a few more minutes, and the Elephant Koi began to do a few tricks of their own, flying out of the water and bouncing along it's currents like a skipped rock. He had to admit, he was still having some fun.

On his last lap, the other two Elephant Kou that were accompanying him suddenly veered off, but he hadn't noticed.

Zuko seemed to be cheering him on, waving both hands excitedly. He was wondering if he could ask Zuko to tell Azula how cool he looked in the water, but Azula returned too, and she was also cheering him on! So his performance wasn't a waste after all!

He waved back with a laugh.

Back on the shore, Zuko was yelling Aang's name.

"I don't think he can hear us," he told Azula, tousling his unkempt hair, nervous.

A large shape was surfacing from the water's depths behind Aang, seemingly chasing him. It must have been what had the Elephant Koi spooked.

Azula wanted to bite her fingernail, wishing there was something he could do.

The massive shape finally burst through the water with a roar, a huge mass of scales and serpentine glory.

Aang was suddenly bucked off of his ride, and he flipped forward in midair before crashing into the body of water.

The giant serpent didn't even bother to wait and surged forward to Aang's last known location.

Azula and Zuko called iut to him simultaneously. Was this how the Avatar's story would end? Being eaten by some giant monster they'd never heard of.

That's when Aang broke through the water like the Elephant Koi from before, and began _running _across the water's surface towards them.

Hysterical, Aang, barely slowed down as he made it back to shore before falling forward and sliding to a stop.

"He's safe, let's push it back!" Zuko said, clambering his right arm. Azula nodded, and they both settled into a stance, back to back, mirroring each other. They stepped forward, then pivoted with their backs to spin once, and punched forward, launching two large fireballs towards the sea monster's face.

With a cry pf pain, it reeled back from the hit. It faced them again and opened it's snout, a jet of pressurized water escaping from it's mouth. With the force of a cannon, the water missile crashed into the beach, spraying sand and mud every which way. The fire siblings were able to just barely evade by rolling to either side, and were pelted with debris.

The serpent reared its head back again, and then cried in pain and surprise at the blast of cutting wind that buffeted it's face. It growled in what could have been interpreted as annoyance before it turned around completely this time and finally disappeared back into the water.

Zuko released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, and slumped to the ground. Azula raised a brow.

"I don't know about you two, but this smells of bad luck. We should go."

"Maybe that was the worst of it?" Aang asked with a shrug. They still needed to restock on supplies however, and he insisted they at least spend the day to check out the village.

Something sounded like wood snapping, and Aang, Azula, and Zuko turned their heads to the sound.

"You heard that, right?" Zuko asked them, raising his hands in preparation for an attack. The other two did the same, but they couldn't pinpoint where exactly the noise came from.

Momo decided to screech at that moment, jumping from atop Appa's saddle.

Then chaos erupted.

Several figures leapt through the treeline from the direction the village would be. They were all armored in green-colored uniforms, armed with swords and something attached to their sashes.

Zuko and Azula both punched Fire balls in opposite directions, attempting to disperse the attack. Aang decided to run support, grabbing his staff and swinging a gale of wind to protect the siblings' exposed backs.

The fire attack wasn't as successful as hoped, though. One of the lead warriors closest to the fire blasts pulled the strange weapon from their sash. A metal fan. With an expert swing and flick of the wrist, the flame was dispersed harmlessly, and now the attacking warriors had closed the distance.

Before they knew it, their arms were twisted behind their backs. A sharp pain behind their neck was all they could remember before blacking out.


	11. Ch 4: Kyoshi Island, Part 1

Azula realized she was the first to wake up after snapping her eyes open. She looked to her left then her right, and saw that Aang and Sokka stood unconscious on either side of her; fortunately, they didn't appear to be injured. whoever had attacked them, they could have finished them off then and there. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth, and she resolved to never get caught off guard like that again.

What was worse was that they were in unfamiliar territory to boot.

The surface her back rested on was coarse but smooth; possibly wood. Glancing around, she saw that her hands-although she could feel it from the sensation in her wrists- were tied up by the arms. Their wrists were suspended above their shoulders and tied around the wooden surface, which to her looked like some sort of totem. The path ahead of them was nothing but a dirt road, and there was no greenery except for where dwellings stood.

It almost looked like a ghost town. The only factor out of place was that every door attached to these houses were closed shut.

Obviously, they were being watched. It was much too quiet and being tied up in a seemingly abandoned village didn't make sense any way you cut it.

Without wasting time she kicked at both Zuko and Aang, hitting the former a bit harder than necessary with the heel of her foot. Aang jumped, as much as he could under the circumstances, claiming in his mumbling that he was awake, and Zuko only grunted, more out of annoyance than actual pain.

"It seems we've been captured by this seemingly empty village," Azula sighed. She tested the tension of the rope binding her wrists. It was tied well, too, as they were wrapped far enough from her palms to keep her from being able to simply burn the rope apart without harming herself.

"What's with everyone we meet trying to beat us up?" Aang asked as he lazily examined the rope around his own wrists, and Azula frowned in mild disbelief. He actually sounded genuinely confused.

"You _are _the Avatar," she answered with a quirked brow, and said no more, as if that was all the explanation that was needed. While Aang seemed to be trying to wrap his head around being the Avatar and being disliked for it, Azula got to work.

With a deep breath, she tensed her abdominals and kicked upward with both legs, managing to shift her weight toward her feet which were now planted on the totem. Instead of being in a standing position, she was now facing downward as if she were climbing down the pole hands first.

"Wow," Aang commented, a bit taken aback by the display.

"Show off," Zuko mumbled. He definitely wouldn't admit to being envious of her athleticism.

With some effort, Azula managed to burn through her rope now that she had a better angle in which to see her hands. Bracing herself, she landed roughly on her hands before dismounting on her feet.

Zuko grunted, seemingly unimpressed, as the dirt crunched under Azula's booted feet.

"Great, now get us out of here so we can fly somewhere else." Azula was about to comply with a snappy response, but stopped short at what sounded like the sliding of metal. And it was uncomfortably close.

"Not another step," a feminine voice called out behind her. Something unmistakably metallic pressed against her back.

Azula sucked her teeth, raising her arms in surrender.

Zuko and Aang saw a woman step out from behind Azula. There were several others that also appeared as well, seeming to materialize out of previously thought to be empty alleys and treelines, and even some stepped out of a couple of the houses. They were all garbed in armored dresses colored in tones of the forest.

Even some people that might have been the villagers gathered around, albeit from a slightly farther distance. They all stood around in scattered crowds, warily observing them.

The armored women's faces almost caught Zuko off guard, mistaking face paint for fierce expressions. Red and black paint was imposed over white, making their eyes stand out more than what would be usual. The way their faces were painted gave the impression that the person was almost enraged.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" An elderly man near Azula demanded, his voice projecting clearly. He appeared along with some of the other strangely dressed women. The man himself looked rather harmless in comparison, garbed in a simple blue tunic and pants. He had almost as much hair on the top of his head as he was tall. He was most likely the village's chief.

"Tell us what we want to know and we might now throw you to the Unagi," the woman that had been near Azula added.

"We're travelers on our way towards the East," Zuko spoke up impatiently. He was really getting tired of being tied to this wooden pole. "If you get your village's Guard Captain, we can explain ourselves. Zuko wasn't sure if this place had a formal military, but he was sure that they might have had guards stationed. Perhaps that was how they were ambushed?

The woman with the metal weapon, who stood near Azula, blinked.

"_We _are the guards," she retorted, and Zuko briefly wondered if he caught an offended tone in her voice.

"We were ambushed by villagers. Wonderful," Azula muttered under her breath.

"_Azula__!" _Zuko whispered harshly, scolding her.

The woman had apparently heard Azula's comment. Some of the others did too, apparently, as they looked at her in disapproval.

"Looks like the Unagi will be eating well tonight," she said, a hidden challenge in her voice.

"Wait!" Zuko pleaded. The woman hovered her free hand over her waist in response.

A sword handle.

"My sister's just clueless sometimes."

His sister scoffed, but thankfully hadn't said anything else. "We're traveling the world with our Air Nomad friend to stop the Water Chief."

"Unlikely," Ths old man from earlier quickly contradicted as he stepped forward. "The Air Nomads have been gone for 100 years!" He waved a hand dismissively. Aang sighed softly at the reminder. Azula noticed the old man didn't address the comment about the Water Chief.

"This island has stayed away from conflict ever since it was created by Avatar Kyoshi...and by principle, the war too. We intend to keep it that way."

Aang perked up. "That's great! I know Avatar Kyoshi!"

Zuko and Azula looked at him, puzzled. Where was he going with this?

The Village Chief scoffed, insulted. "Avatar Kyoshi has been dead for nearly two hundred years. How can you possibly know her?"

Aang smiled mischievously. "I know her because _I'm _the Avatar."

The blank faces on their unintended audience would have been hilarious if not for their threat of being thrown to what Azula presumed was the sea serpent they'd seen earlier.

The silence dragged on for another two seconds and Azula mildly suggested he might want to demonstrate his claim.

"Oh! Right!" Aang said, mentally smacking his forehead. With a flourish of his hands, he somehow _slipped_ through the rope binding his arms and leapt tens of feet into the air, the rope now trailing uselessly on his wrists. As he slowly descended back to the surface, he was met with amazed cries and muttered whisperings.

"You really _are _the Avatar," the old man breathed, sufficently convinced. With that declaration, the woman with the sword neared Zuko and cut his restraints, freeing him.

"You could have done that the whole time?" Azula whispered to Aang, annoyed. Aang shrugged, a goofy smile on his face.

"Slipped my mind."

As air-headed as he was, Azula thought, pun intended, he might have really forgotten. She shook her head.

"Thank you for hearing us out," Zuko said to the old man and the woman, apparently the leader of the warrior women.

"My name is Suki, and these are the Kyoshi Warriors."

"That's amazing! Avatar Kyoshi has a whole Island of warriors!" Aang's excitement was infectious and Zuko couldn't help cracking a smile at his happy-go-lucky demeanor.

"I'd be happy to give the Avatar and his friends a tour of the Island.

Azula seemed to scowl at the praise of the island, sucking her teeth. "They aren't that impressive," she mumbled under her breath before speaking again at a more normal volume. "They only defeated us because they caught us off guard." Aang scratched his head, not sure how to respond. Azula said all of this right in earshot of Suki, who only reacted with a furrowed brow.

"I mean, it's not really a big deal, right?" Aang offered diplomatically.

"Yeah, it isn't," Zuko agreed gruffly, looking pointedly at Azula. Sure, Zuko thought, nobody liked metaphorically caught with their pants down, but Azula was really taking it too far. Besides, no one cared about fighting fair in real combat.

"Whatever," Azula said, looking away imperiously, as she finally seemed to realize that Suki and even her own brother were glaring at her.

"Since you're such a master combatant, why don't you come by our dojo when you get the chance?" the Kyoshi Warrior suggested. It sounded like an innocent enough question, but there was a challenge behind her eyes that Azula caught easily enough.

"Fine," she answered, eyes narrowed. If looks could harm, both Azula and Suki would be covered in bruises.

As if a switch was flipped, Suki was all smiles when she addressed Zuko. "You're welcome to drop by as well of you're interested?"

Zuko stifled a laugh. "I wouldn't miss a chance to see Azula humbled for the world." His sister curled her lip at his flippant remark.

"Whose side are you even on?"

"Why does there have to be sides?"

"Fine! We'll see who has the last laugh after we duel!" Azula declared, pointing at Suki's chest.

* * *

Aang and Zuko were walking through the market area after Suki gave them a tour of the island. Azula had refused to tag along, claiming that she was going to run through some forms before "Making the Kyoshi Warrior suffer the ultimate shame and humiliation."

"Is your sister always that...intense?" Aang queried as they stopped by a fruit stand.

Zuko picked up a mango, turning it over in his hands. "Yeah," Zuko bluntly replied. "Sometimes, she just takes things too seriously."

"But it's just a sparring match," Aang said, lazily leaning on his staff as if it were some sort of cane. Villagers shuffled around them, some of them occassionally greeting him in varying levels of excitement.

"Ever heard of an Agni Kai?" Zuko said as an answer.

Aang thought about it. He remembered his old friend Kuzon used to tell him about them all the time. A wistful smile appeared on his face. "Fire Duels, right?" He looked to Zuko for his response, and was met with an approving nod.

"She sees pretty much everything as some sort of test or challenge. Thanks to our dad..." he seemed to mumble the last part and Aang wondered if he was supposed to have heard that. But Zuko shook his head as if clearing a memory. "So Suki challenging her to a spar is no different than an Agni Kai to her."

Aang hummed to himself. Maybe Aang was just the person to show her how much fun could be had around the world!

"You guys don't seem like you get out much, no offense."

Zuko looked at him blankly before shrugging. "Well, you're not wrong," he answered slowly. Zuko could tell Aang was worried about Azula and waved away his worry. "She's just not used to people who can match her snark. She'll be fine."

While Zuko and Aang gave Azula space to sulk or train, or whatever she was doing, they were unaware of Aang's presence being compromised. Villagers weren't as secretive when it came to rumors and news, so it was unsurprising that tradesmen and fishermen get to talking. It's unknown who said it first, but the rumor mill eventually got to Sokka's personal ship, which had been docked about a quarter of a day's travel from where Team Avatar was stationed. An attendant set his food down in front of him.

"The merchants say that the Avatar was seen on Kyoshi Island."

Sokka nearly spat out his drink. "He's on Kyoshi Island?"

"Gramps! Our trail hasn't gone cold after all!"

Pakku sat across from him at the modest table. It was a room set aside for eating and as a break room for the crew. The older Waterben, any enthusiasm he had about eating his food utterly ruined by the detestable nickname his grandson was keen on constantly using. He placed the chopsticks back into the bowl, pinching his nose.

"And here I thought I'd be able to just enjoy my dinner without having to set sail so soon." And it was a Shame, really. It had been a while since they docked at another port since getting the vessel repaired, and fish was in short supply, with so much of it going towards the war effort. So, he was understandably a bit grumpy that he couldn't eat his dish in peace.

"We can just eat while we head there," Sokka said dismissively, grabbing his dish. He began to step out, but turned on his heel, pointing at Pakku's still steaming bowl of food. "You gonna eat that?"

With a carefully blank expression, Pakku pushed his bowl toward Sokka.


	12. Kyoshi Island, Part 2

While it was fun to get much attention from the villagers, his thoughts kept wandering to Azula.

He'd never seen her so upset before and he almost felt guilty impressing the children and performing tricks while knowing all of this and not having talked to her yet. Once he broke away from the crowd, he made his way to the hut that the villagers loaned them for their brief stay.

"Azula, you there?" he greeted, stepping inside. The interior looked much like the other houses, with matted floors, wooden walls, and modest trappings within. There were some tapestries pinned to the wall, depicting Avatar Kyoshi and some Earthbending warriors. The small table was set against the wall, allowing for more space in the center of the room. In Azula's case, to practice her firebending forms with ease.

Aang admired her movements, noticing her slightly different style of fighting and how it compared to Zuko. While Zuko favored large, simple, concussive blasts emphasized by closed fists, Azula favored speed and energy conservation. Instead of balled fists, her pointer and middle finger were pointed forward like daggers, allowing her to launch thinner but more accurate blasts of fire. They looked almost like thick needles of yellow-orange energy before they fizzled out once they flew far enough away from her. Idly, he noticed the fire seemed to carry a slightly darker tint than before.

Woth a start, he realized Azula hadn't answered and that he'd been staring. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts.

Azula, come to the village hallanIt's time to eat. You don't want to overdo it with the practicing."

Azula finished her form by landing on the matted floor with her hands parallel to each other, with two fingers still pointed out like knives. An arc of thin fire had followed her hand movement in a thin arc before dissipating. She held the pose for a second before relaxing and reaching for the wall, grabbing a cloth to dry herself.

"I don't have an appetite," she replied quickly, and a bit too aggressively, without turning around.

Aang backed up a step, a bit put off by her temper. "Okay..." he said slowly. He still wondered what the big deal was with the sparring match between the two girls later today. It wasn't like it was a life or death situation. "Why don't you join us for dinner? It's not healthy to get worked up like this," he advised, remembering some of the teachings Monk Gyatso imparted to him. "Besides, everybody loses a fight once in a while."

Azula finally turned around, glowering at him. "Firstly, I didn't _lose_ any fight," she affirmed, arms folded in front of her. "They used dishonorable guerilla tactics. I'm completely certain in a fair match up, she would have been utterly destroyed." She turned back around, hanging the towel on a rack.

"Zuko isn't hung up about it," Aang pointed out, and Azula's scoff made him wonder if he said the wrong thing.

"Well that's because he's him," she retorted, as if that was all the explanation needed.

"That's not very nice," Aang lightly scolded, feeling the need to defend Zuko. He sighed. "I mean, do you even need to go to the dojo? Maybe you're blowing this out of proportion-"

"Are you saying I can't defeat her?" Azula interrupted, throwing Aang off track. He furrowed a brow in confusion.

"I didn't say th-"

"She's just a peasant," Azula continued, and Aang made a face at the terminology. "Once we have our duel, you will see that she is nothing without sneak attacks and dirty tactics."

Aang looked at her blankly, exasperated. "It really isn't that serious," he pointed out, stepping deeper into the hut. "She seems really nice. She gave us a tour and everything. And she was really understanding about our unannounced visit and all." He scratched the back of his head. "Would have been nice if you were there for the tour."

Azula seemed to pick up on his mood, because she sighed, looking at the floor. "Fine, after the duel, we can go look around the village."

Aang seemed to perk up at the offer. "Sparring match," he politely corrected.

"Whatever."

* * *

Inside of the Dojo, Suki was finishing up some last minute drills with her comrades.

She corrected one warrior's stance by loosening her fan-holding arm. After a few more minutes of cook down drills, she returned to the front of the room.

"Alright, girls, that's enough for today," she announced, clapping her hands twice. All of her peers relaxed their stances, returning their war fans to their belts and immediately breaking intl conversation.

It was during this period that Azula brashly stepped into the dojo, hands on her hips, observing the interior as if she owned the place. The casual atmosphere somewhat tensed at the arrival of the intruder.

Suki suppressed the urge to furrow her brows when Azula's gaze fell on her.

"So, this is where you all learn your martial arts?" It didn't go unnoticed that her tone was a bit patronizing. Her "Greeting" was met with a mixture of annoyed stares and subtle scowls.

"Azula. You grace us with your presence," Suki replied, schooling her features. While she didn't really like the first impressions of the Fire National, she did her best to not let her displeasure show. Her brother didn't seem so bad, though. But even with the effort, she still sounded the slightest bit standoffish.

Azula didn't react to the stiff reply. Instead, she shrugged. "Well, I'm here for the duel like we agreed," she replied, returning her wandering gaze to Suki. "I'ce been trained in hand to hand, if you need a handicap."

At the hidden insult, Suki's Kyoshi Warriors immediately shifted there gazes to her, as if wondering how this would play out. Suki couldn't hide her annoyance, and so settle on a sigh, hoping to calm herself down.

"A sparring match, not a duel," she corrected, wondering if Azula even knew the difference. "Aren't you a firebender? Just use that."

If anything, Suki's response seemed to annoy Azula, which Suki found odd.

"Fine. Lead the way."

Suki obliged, leading Azula out of the Dojo and into the village center, where Team Avatar actually got a good first look at the settlement, in front of the towering statue of Avatar Kyoshi. Besides the Kyoshi warriors that followed behind to spectate, many other villagers arrived to observe as well, a sense of nervous excitement permeating the crowd. Everyone had seen the tense exchange between the two girls, and everyone present was curious to see how the spar would end.

Aang and Zuko had showed up as well. The Kyoshi warriors formed a loose perimeter to separate the crowd from the two fighters, with the space within wide enough to give them plenty of maneuvering space. While the crowd observed from behind the wall of warriors, Aang and Zuko sat farther back, able to get a more comfortable view from a raised porch of one of the village's houses.

"Who do you think's gonna win?" Aang asked the Prince. He was supporting his weight with his arms, leaning back on the wooden surface of the porch.

It's not that he doubted Azula's ability; everything he'd seen so far displayed that she was especially skilled. The glimpse of blue fire he'd seen her use came to his mind.

But facing off against a nonbender who specialized in particularly unconventional weapons was another matter. He'd rarely seen War Fans even when he still lived in the Air Temple and he was curious to see how they looked in action.

"Its hard to say," Zuko replied. Suki had shown him and Aang the Kyoshi Warriors' dojo and their fighting style. It was fluid and graceful and vaguely reminded him of waterbending philosophy. If Suki were a bender, it was a guarantee that Azula would have problems, he thought.

"Azula does favor speed and backing the opponent into a corner," Zuko added, though both he and Aang knew it wasn't much of an answer.

"And Suki almost fights like an Airbender," the young Avatar stated.

One Kyoshi Warrior, a tall girl with hair that pooled behind her into a large braid that reached just below her waist, stepped into the center of the impromptu ring. Without a word, she held her arm straight up, closed fan raised in the air.

Azula and Suki stood across from each other, then bowed to each other in their respective style.

Then she chopped the same arm down, fan unfurling with a metallic swoosh.

As if a gong sounded, both girls flew into action.

Azula made the first move, jumping forward with a snap kick, calling forth a short lived wave of flame. She was intent on ending the duel quickly. If she had it her way, Suki would already be flat on her back.

To her surprise, Suki hadn't even bothered to so much as dodge the flames. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if she overdid it with her initial assault, until the fire _dispersed_.

Was that _firebending_? Azula thought, her mind racing.

Suki stood at the same spot, arms spread outward, her War Fans unfurled, stray licks of flame dissipating around them as they were spread apart.

"Of course..." Azula muttered, annoyed.

She switched up her stance, closing her fists except her pointer and middle finger, favoring precision over power. No matter how large her flames were, it seemed Suki's fans could nullify them.

Suki still did not go on the offensive, only moving enough to position a fan in front of her face, masking her nose and the bottom half of her face.

Azula quietly sucked her teeth, again going on the attack. She jabbed her fingers forward, launching daggers of flame toward her opponent, hoping the smaller overall size of them would catch her off balance. But Suki seemed somehow prepared, slicing through the smaller fire darts with ease.

Growing frustrated, Azula added kicks to her assault, mixing the larger flames from them with the more precise assault from her fingers.

But even the larger gouts of fire left the Kyoshi Warrior unfazed, as she seemingly weaved through them.

Neither party seemed to overpower the other. Except Azula realized that her offensive was beginning to leave her out of breath. On the other hand, she could observe that Suki was still breathing evenly. Fatigue appeared to not have touched her yet.

The girls began to slowly circle each other. Azula with her fingers spread out now, facing Suki, studying her opponent's stance for any weaknesses.

For Suki herself, she still held a fan in front of her face. Azula couldn't tell if she was smirking or not behind it. The way her eyes creased though definitely implied the latter. Azula's brow lowered, and she stamped down on her rising anger.

"Guess you're fighting style isn't as amateurish as I thought," Azula conceded with a backhanded compliment.

"I guess commoners can be full of surprises," Suki retorted evenly, while at the same time acknowledging her status as royalty. Zuko must have mentioned it to her during the tour she'd turned down on tagging along with.

Azula wouldn't dignify that with a response though, and instead resumed where she left off, firing a few warning shots at the fan wielding girl.

Suki would again deflect all of her long range firebending, so instead, Azula led with a large fire blast before closing the distance, fire daggers at the ready.

Suki finally seemed to be caught off guard, but it was only briefly. Suki maneuvered her shoulder just so, that the dagger would glance off of her shoulder pad. She went with the momentum, spinning with her fan in hand, hoping to catch Azula in the arm.

Her attack struck true, hitting Azula's left arm and making her swing go wide. Suki stepped to Azula's left, hoping to pin her arm behind her and end the match.

Azula's other hand was waiting for her and only a moment later, Azula and Suki were at a stalemate.

Azula's right hand was aimed at the side of Suki's neck while Suki's fan was positioned directly in front Azula's throat.

The princess cursed under her breath.

It looked like it was a draw, and the apparent referee Kyoshi Warrior, the same girl with the hair pooling into a braid, announced as much.

Slowly, the two girls separated from each other.

Without another word, Azula stalked away toward the team's house.

* * *

_A/N: This chapter was a bit light. I had some other engagements going on today so I couldn't make this chapter longer without a longer wait, so I decided to upload this. Next chapter will be up pretty soon. _


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